This article shall be known as the "Identity Theft Prevention
Program."
The purpose of this article is to comply with 16 CFR § 681.2
in order to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft by identifying
and detecting identity theft red flags and by responding to such red
flags in a manner that will prevent identity theft.
All employees responsible for or involved in the process of
opening a covered account, restoring a covered account or accepting
payment for a covered account shall check for red flags as indicators
of possible identity theft, and such red flags may include:
A. Alerts from consumer reporting agencies, fraud detection agencies
or service providers. Examples of alerts include but are not limited
to:
(1) A fraud or active duty alert that is included with a consumer report;
(2) A notice of credit freeze in response to a request for a consumer
report;
(3) A notice of address discrepancy provided by a consumer reporting
agency;
(4) Indications of a pattern of activity in a consumer report that is
inconsistent with the history and usual pattern of activity of an
applicant or customer, such as:
(a)
A recent and significant increase in the volume of inquiries;
(b)
An unusual number of recently established credit relationships;
(c)
A material change in the use of credit, especially with respect
to recently established credit relationships; or
(d)
An account that was closed for cause or identified for abuse
of account privileges by a financial institution or creditor.
B. Suspicious documents. Examples of suspicious documents include:
(1) Documents provided for identification that appear to be altered or
forged;
(2) Identification on which the photograph or physical description is
inconsistent with the appearance of the applicant or customer;
(3) Identification on which the information is inconsistent with information
provided by the applicant or customer;
(4) Identification on which the information is inconsistent with readily
accessible information that is on file with the financial institution
or creditor, such as a signature card or a recent check; or
(5) An application that appears to have been altered or forged, or appears
to have been destroyed and reassembled.
C. Suspicious personal identification, such as suspicious address change.
Examples of suspicious identifying information include:
(1) Personal identifying information that is inconsistent with external
information sources used by the financial institution or creditor.
For example:
(a)
The address does not match any address in the consumer report;
or
(b)
The social security number (SSN) has not been issued, or is
listed on the Social Security Administration's Death Master File.
(2) Personal identifying information provided by the customer is not
consistent with other personal identifying information provided by
the customer, such as a lack of correlation between the SSN range
and date of birth.
(3) Personal identifying information or a phone number or address, is
associated with known fraudulent applications or activities as indicated
by internal or third-party sources used by the financial institution
or creditor.
(4) Other information provided, such as fictitious mailing address, mail
drop addresses, jail addresses, invalid phone numbers, pager numbers
or answering services, is associated with fraudulent activity.
(5) The SSN provided is the same as that submitted by other applicants
or customers.
(6) The address or telephone number provided is the same as or similar
to the account number or telephone number submitted by an unusually
large number of applicants or customers.
(7) The applicant or customer fails to provide all required personal
identifying information on an application or in response to notification
that the application is incomplete.
(8) Personal identifying information is not consistent with personal
identifying information that is on file with the financial institution
or creditor.
(9) The applicant or customer cannot provide authenticating information
beyond that which generally would be available from a wallet or consumer
report.
D. Unusual use of or suspicious activity relating to a covered account.
Examples of suspicious activity include:
(1) Shortly following the notice of a change of address for an account,
the City receives a request for the addition of authorized users on
the account.
(2) A new revolving credit account is used in a manner commonly associated
with known patterns of fraud patterns. For example:
(a)
The customer fails to make the first payment or makes an initial
payment but no subsequent payments.
(3) An account is used in a manner that is not consistent with established
patterns of activity on the account. There is, for example:
(a)
Nonpayment when there is no history of late or missed payments;
(b)
A material change in purchasing or spending patterns.
(4) An account that has been inactive for a long period of time is used.
(5) Mail sent to the customer is returned repeatedly as undeliverable
although transactions continue to be conducted in connection with
the customer's account.
(6) The City is notified that the customer is not receiving paper account
statements.
(7) The City is notified of unauthorized charges or transactions in connection
with a customer's account.
(8) The City is notified by a customer, law enforcement or another person
that it has opened a fraudulent account for a person engaged in identity
theft.
E. Notice from customers, law enforcement, victims or other reliable
sources regarding possible identity theft or phishing relating to
covered accounts.
Upon the recommendation of the City Manager and Director of
Finance, the City Council shall annually review and, as deemed necessary
by the Council, update the Identity Theft Prevention Program along
with any relevant red flags in order to reflect changes in risks to
customers or to the safety and soundness of the City and its covered
accounts from identity theft. In so doing, the City Council shall
consider the following factors and exercise its discretion in amending
the program:
A. The City's experiences with identity theft;
B. Updates in methods of identity theft;
C. Updates in customary methods used to detect, prevent, and mitigate
identity theft;
D. Updates in the types of accounts that the City offers or maintains;
and
E. Updates in service provider arrangements.
The Director of Finance is responsible for oversight of the
program and for program implementation. The Director of Finance is
responsible for reviewing reports prepared by staff regarding compliance
with red flag requirements and with recommending material changes
to the program, as necessary in the opinion of the Director of Finance,
to address changing identity theft risks and to identify new or discontinued
types of covered accounts. Any recommended material changes to the
program shall be submitted to the City Council for consideration by
the Council.
A. The Director of Finance will report to the City Manager and City
Council at least annually, on compliance with the red flag requirements.
The report will address material matters related to the program and
evaluate issues such as:
(1) The effectiveness of the policies and procedures of the City in addressing
the risk of identity theft in connection with the opening of covered
accounts and with respect to existing covered accounts;
(2) Service provider arrangements;
(3) Significant incidents involving identity theft and management's
response; and
(4) Recommendations for material changes to the program.
B. The Director of Finance is responsible for providing training to
all employees responsible for or involved in opening a new covered
account, restoring an existing covered account or accepting payment
for a covered account with respect to the implementation and requirements
of the Identity Theft Prevention Program. The Director of Finance
shall exercise his or her discretion in determining the amount and
substance of training necessary.
In the event that the City engages a service provider to perform
an activity in connection with one or more covered accounts, the Director
of Finance shall exercise his or her discretion in reviewing such
arrangements in order to ensure, to the best of his or her ability,
that the service provider's activities are conducted in accordance
with policies and procedures, agreed upon by contract, that are designed
to detect any red flags that may arise in the performance of the service
provider's activities and take appropriate steps to prevent or
mitigate identity theft.
"Treatment of Address Discrepancies."
Pursuant to 16 CFR § 681.1, the purpose of this article
is to establish a process by which the City will be able to form a
reasonable belief that a consumer report relates to the consumer about
whom it has requested a consumer credit report when the City has received
a notice of address discrepancy.
In the event that the City receives a notice of address discrepancy,
the City employee responsible for verifying consumer addresses for
the purpose of providing the municipal service or account sought by
the consumer shall perform one or more of the following activities,
as determined to be appropriate by such employee:
A. Compare the information in the consumer report with:
(1) Information the City obtains and uses to verify a consumer's
identity in accordance with the requirements of the Customer Information
Program rules implementing 31 U.S.C. § 5318(l);
(2) Information the City maintains in its own records, such as applications
for service, change of address notices, other customer account records
or tax records; or
(3) Information the City obtains from third-party sources that are deemed
reliable by the relevant City employee; or
B. Verify the information in the consumer report with the consumer.
The City employee charged with confirming consumer addresses
may, in his or her discretion, confirm the accuracy of an address
through one or more of the following methods:
A. Verifying the address with the consumer;
B. Reviewing the City's records to verify the consumer's address;
C. Verifying the address through third party sources; or
D. Using other reasonable processes.