[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
The City of Goodman Water/Sewer/Trash Department developed this
Identity Theft Prevention Program pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission's
Red Flags Rule, which implements Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003. 16 C.F.R. §681.2. This Program
was developed with oversight and approval of the Board of Aldermen.
After consideration of the size and complexity of the utility's operations
and account systems, and the nature and scope of the utility's activities,
the Board of Aldermen determined that this Program was appropriate
for the City of Goodman, and therefore approved this Program on December
16, 2008.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
A.
Fulfilling Requirements Of The Red Flags Rule. Under the
Red Flag Rule, every financial institution and creditor is required
to establish an "Identity Theft Prevention Program" tailored to its
size, complexity and the nature of its operation. Each program must
contain reasonable policies and procedures to:
1.
Identify
relevant red flags for new and existing covered accounts and incorporate
those red flags into the program;
2.
Detect
red flags that have been incorporated into the program;
3.
Respond
appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate
identity theft; and
4.
Ensure
the program is updated periodically, to reflect changes in risks to
customers or to the safety and soundness of the creditor from identity
theft.
B.
Red Flags Rule Definitions Used In This Program.
1.
The
Red Flags Rule defines "identity theft" as fraud
committed using the identifying information of another person, and
a "red flag" as a pattern, practice, or specific
activity that indicates the possible existence of identity theft.
2.
According
to the Rule, a "municipal utility" is a creditor
subject to the Rule requirements. The Rule defines "creditors" to include finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers,
utility companies, and telecommunications companies. Where non-profit
and government entities defer payment for goods or services, they,
too, are to be considered creditors.
3.
All
the utility's accounts that are individual utility service accounts
held by customers of the utility whether residential, commercial or
industrial are covered by the Rule. Under the Rule, a "covered
account" is:
a.
Any
account the utility offers or maintains primarily for personal, family
or household purposes, that involves multiple payments or transactions;
and
b.
Any
other account the utility offers or maintains for which there is a
reasonably foreseeable risk to customers or to the safety and soundness
of the utility from identity theft.
4.
"Identifying information" is defined under the Rule as any
name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any
other information, to identify a specific person, including: name,
address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth,
government issued driver's license or identification number, alien
registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer
identification number, unique electronic identification number, computer's
Internet Protocol address, or routing code.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
A.
In order
to identify relevant Red Flags, the utility considers the types of
accounts that it offers and maintains, the methods it provides to
open its accounts, the methods it provides to access its accounts,
and its previous experiences with identity theft. The utility identifies
the following red flags, in each of the listed categories:
1.
Notifications and warnings from credit reporting agencies.
Red flags.
a.
Report
of fraud accompanying a credit report;
b.
Notice
or report from a credit agency of a credit freeze on a customer or
applicant;
c.
Notice
or report from a credit agency of an active duty alert for an applicant;
and
d.
Indication
from a credit report of activity that is inconsistent with a customer's
usual pattern or activity.
2.
Suspicious documents.
Red flags.
a.
Identification
document or card that appears to be forged, altered or inauthentic;
b.
Identification
document or card on which a person's photograph or physical description
is not consistent with the person presenting the document;
c.
Other
document with information that is not consistent with existing customer
information (such as if a person's signature on a check appears forged);
and
d.
Application
for service that appears to have been altered or forged.
3.
Suspicious personal identifying information.
Red flags.
a.
Identifying
information presented that is inconsistent with other information
the customer provides (example: inconsistent birth dates);
b.
Identifying
information presented that is inconsistent with other sources of information
(for instance, an address not matching an address on a credit report);
c.
Identifying
information presented that is the same as information shown on other
applications that were found to be fraudulent;
d.
Identifying
information presented that is consistent with fraudulent activity
(such as an invalid phone number or fictitious billing address);
e.
Social
Security number presented that is the same as one given by another
customer;
f.
An
address or phone number presented that is the same as that of another
person;
g.
A
person fails to provide complete personal identifying information
on an application when reminded to do so (however, by law Social Security
numbers must not be required); and
h.
A
person's identifying information is not consistent with the information
that is on file for the customer.
4.
Suspicious account activity or unusual use of account.
Red flags.
a.
Change
of address for an account followed by a request to change the account
holder's name;
b.
Payments
stop on an otherwise consistently up-to-date account;
c.
Account
used in a way that is not consistent with prior use (example: very
high activity);
d.
Mail
sent to the account holder is repeatedly returned as undeliverable;
e.
Notice
to the utility that a customer is not receiving mail sent by the utility;
f.
Notice
to the utility that an account has unauthorized activity;
g.
Breach
in the utility's computer system security; and
h.
Unauthorized
access to or use of customer account information.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
A.
New Accounts. In order to detect any of the Red Flags identified
above associated with the opening of a new account, utility personnel
will take the following steps to obtain and verify the identity of
the person opening the account:
Detect.
1.
Require
certain identifying information such as name, date of birth, residential
or business address, principal place of business for an entity, driver's
license or other identification;
2.
Verify
the customer's identity (for instance, review a driver's license or
other identification card);
3.
Review
documentation showing the existence of a business entity; and
4.
Independently
contact the customer.
B.
Existing Accounts. In order to detect any of the Red Flags
identified above for an existing account, utility personnel will take
the following steps to monitor transactions with an account:
Detect.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
A.
In the
event utility personnel detect any identified Red Flags, such personnel
shall take one (1) or more of the following steps, depending on the
degree of risk posed by the Red Flag:
1.
Prevent and mitigate.
a.
Continue
to monitor an account for evidence of identity theft;
b.
Contact
the customer;
c.
Change
any passwords or other security devices that permit access to accounts;
d.
Not
open a new account;
e.
Close
an existing account;
f.
Reopen
an account with a new number;
g.
Notify
the Program Administrator for determination of the appropriate step(s)
to take;
h.
Notify
law enforcement; or
i.
Determine
that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances.
2.
Protect customer identifying information. In order to further
prevent the likelihood of identity theft occurring with respect to
utility accounts, the utility will take the following steps with respect
to its internal operating procedures to protect customer identifying
information:
a.
Ensure
that its website is secure or provide clear notice that the website
is not secure;
b.
Ensure
complete and secure destruction of paper documents and computer files
containing customer information;
c.
Ensure
that office computers are password protected and that computer screens
lock after a set period of time;
d.
Keep
offices clear of papers containing customer information;
e.
Request
only the last 4 digits of social security numbers (if any);
f.
Ensure
computer virus protection is up to date; and
g.
Require
and keep only the kinds of customer information that are necessary
for utility purposes.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
This program will be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect
changes in risks to customers and the soundness of the utility from
identity theft. At least once per year, the Program Administrator
will consider the utility's experiences with identity theft situation,
changes in identity theft methods, changes in identity theft detection
and prevention methods, changes in types of accounts the utility maintains
and changes in the utility's business arrangements with other entities.
After considering these factors, the Program Administrator will determine
whether changes to the program, including the listing of Red Flags,
are warranted. If warranted, the Program Administrator will update
the program or present the Board of Aldermen with his or her recommended
changes and the Board of Aldermen will make a determination of whether
to accept, modify or reject those changes to the program.
[Ord. No. 2008-410, 12-16-2008]
A.
Oversight. Responsibility for developing, implementing and
updating this program lies with an Identity Theft Committee for the
utility. The Committee is headed by a Program Administrator who may
be the head of the utility or his or her appointee. Two (2) or more
other individuals appointed by the head of the utility or the Program
Administrator comprise the remainder of the committee membership.
The Program Administrator will be responsible for the program administration,
for ensuring appropriate training of utility staff on the program,
for reviewing any staff reports regarding the detection of Red Flags
and the steps for preventing and mitigating identity theft, determining
which steps of prevention and mitigation should be taken in particular
circumstances and considering periodic changes to the program.
B.
Staff Training And Reports. Utility staff responsible for
implementing the program shall be trained either by or under the direction
of the Program Administrator in the detection of red flags, and the
responsive steps to be taken when a Red Flag is detected.
C.
Service Provider Arrangements. In the event the utility
engages a service provider to perform an activity in connection with
one (1) or more accounts, the utility will take the following steps
to ensure the service provider performs its activity in accordance
with reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent,
and mitigate the risk of identity theft.
D.
Specific Program Elements And Confidentiality. For the effectiveness
of identity theft prevention programs, the Red Flag Rule envisions
a degree of confidentiality regarding the utility's specific practices
relating to identity theft detection, prevention and mitigation. Therefore,
under this program, knowledge of such specific practices are to be
limited to the Identity Theft Committee and those employees who need
to know them for purposes of preventing identity theft. Because this
program is to be adopted by a public body and thus publicly available,
it would be counter-productive to list these specific practices here.
Therefore, only the program's general red flag detection, implementation
and prevention practices are listed in this document.
