Monday, August 03, 2009

Identity Theft Criminals Get 3 More Months Delay In Red Flags

In a law originally slated to take effect 11/1/2008, the F.T.C. has again
delayed the beginning of enforcement for a third time. The latest delay
gives identity theft criminals an additional 90 days to operate without
impunity by businesses who are required to implement the F.T.C. written
anti-fraud regulations mandated by the 2003 F.A.C.T.A. law.


Apparently, according to the F.T.C., there is still confusion
over whichbusinesses are required to comply even though
the law has been around now for over 6 years & itself was
an amendment to the much longer standing Fair Credit
Reporting Act (F.C.R.A.) which also historically defines
what firms are included:

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
requiring
“creditors” and “financial institutions” with
covered accounts to
implement programs to identify,
detect, and respond to the warning
signs, or “red flags,”
that could indicate identity theft.


Examples of the type of firms which are required to comply
are:
  • Finance companies
  • Automobile dealers that provide or arrange financing;
  • Mortgage brokers
  • Utility companies
  • Telecommunications companies
  • Non-profit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services
  • Businesses that provide services and bill later, including many lawyers, doctors, and other professionals.
While it may be considered ambiguous by these firms whether they
should comply or not, to the credit of the F.T.C., a great wealth of
resources - even including a special website - was provided to bring
clarity and guidance for implementation.

Evidently, powerful lobbying organizations such as the
A.M.A. objected to the F.T.C.'s definition of them being
included as "creditors" as early as September, 2008
even though there has been a consistent pattern of
medical identity theft data breaches the past 3 years.

So, while the lobbyists and the regulators continue to do battle over
implementing very clear legal steps to protect all of us consumers
from continued identity theft, the criminals and financial fraudsters
have been given another green light signal to perpetrate illegal
activities all the while knowing there is not much real commitment
by our government to wage an all out war against them.

As a result, our tip for today is to take matters under your own
control - especially with
medical identity theft as this one of the
softest areas that identity thieves know they can
exploit as
"creditors" continue to delay or outright refuse to comply with
regulatory
efforts specifically designed to close the loop holes
credit reporting and law enforcement
has been frustrated with
for years.


Get your medical identity theft & personal information profile
checked out today.

Finally, make sure to tell a friend or family member of this
important new
development in identity theft fraud prevention.

13 Comments:

At 9:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

3 more months adding up to over a 1 year delay - what good are these so called "elected representatives" if they don't help us out in protecting us from these identity thieves?

This makes me mad knowing how we again get sold out by our congressmen and government officials.

Thank you agent99 for exposing this fraud.

 
At 10:58 PM, Blogger agent99 said...

Anonymous said:

"3 more months adding up to over a 1 year delay..."

"Thank you agent99 for exposing this fraud."

----

You are very welcome - glad the article post revealed a greater sense of accountability that seemingly is lacking by our elected officials to help hard working, everyday folks to prevent identity theft.

Sadly, this latest episode of Congressional lack of support identity theft protection for American consumers seems to be a reoccurring pattern at least by some of our elected officials who actually wanted to dismantle 22 State Id Theft Laws to protect the American Banker's Association (and their campaign contributions).

So, take matters into your own

 
At 11:04 PM, Blogger agent99 said...

You should be aware that same year, the good senator
recieved $171,314 in lobbyist contributions from the finance industry

Food for thought!

 
At 1:44 PM, Anonymous Ways to Prevent Identity theft said...

Damn it! I never realized that medical identity theft was that big of an issue. I think it's truly sad that someone would exploit someone in need of medical attention for their own personal gain. I guess it's really important that people start assuming that they can't be a victim and start taking all the necessary steps to make sure this is avoided at all costs. Great post you have here. I'll be sure to come back and check some of these out.

 
At 6:40 AM, Anonymous Michelle said...

Wow, thanks for highlighting this. It goes to show that consumers, in the meantime, should be doing all they can on their own to protect their personal information.

 
At 1:45 AM, Anonymous Plastic Card said...

This is really useful information.I appreciate the skills of you writing.

 
At 4:50 PM, Anonymous Erlyne said...

If you are using Medicare, you are doubly 'jinxed' - first because your SSN is also your Medicare number followed by a letter. Next because you are usually too flustered to protest when you're asked to provide written proof every time you visit the Dr.'s office.

Last year word came down that Medicare was going to start handing out random numbers for Medicare cards, much as colleges do for students, instead of relying on a SSN. That idea hasn't gone anywhere either.

 
At 11:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Identity theft is an insidious evil of the computer age. We all tend to believe that if "it" is stored on a computer it must be the truth, and no one really realises how easily data can be changed and manipulated.

In this age data is collected in numerous ways - RFIDs on your credit card or passport show what you buy and where. A lot of stores use RFID as stock control. These RFID tags are activated by passing a reader - anywhere. So many products carry RFID now - WalMart just announced they will be including them. Automated toll systems carry RFID therefore it can be seen that your voyage in a car has happened and at what time. The same holds true for public transport passes.

All the discount cards and loyalty cards carry RFID and so it can be seen that it is comparatively easy to build a personal profile of what an individual is purchasing, where they are, what credit rating they have and so, so much more.

This leaves the field wide open for identity theft. There is more data on any one individual these days than there ever has been and personally I would find it odd if this data is not being stored somewhere. In much the same way as CCTV information is stored.

There is a good article to this at a site called Time to Awaken and includes many links to similar information sources.

 
At 2:41 PM, Anonymous Identity Theft said...

Thanks for the information. I think its time for consumer awareness finally. Cause nothing happens one handed. There has to be a equal effort on part of consumer and organization authorities to get the problem of identity theft under control.

 
At 10:32 AM, Anonymous Identity Theft Resource said...

Wow, this is really alarming. I cant believe how much people take advantage of one another. Its terrible.



____________________
Identity Theft Resource

 
At 11:00 PM, Anonymous harryharperper said...

People just like you and me are victims of identity theft everyday.You may need an identity theft lawyer sooner than you think if you are the next person to be targeted.

 
At 2:03 AM, Anonymous Atlanta Home Security said...

I'm impressed. You're truly well informed and very intelligent. You wrote something that people could understand and made the subject intriguing for everyone. I'm saving this for future use

 
At 6:26 AM, Anonymous Research Essays said...

hi.....
great blot.I like your post.its a great seance of accountability.u done a great job.keep it up.i hope u will write this kind of stuff in future..thanks for sharing.
thanks.

 

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