WASHINGTON — Six federal agencies
issued a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) today to help financial
institutions, creditors, users of consumer reports, and issuers of credit cards
and debit cards comply with federal regulations on identity theft and
discrepancies in changes of address.
The “Red Flags and Address Discrepancy
Rules,” which implement sections of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions
Act of 2003 (FACT Act), were issued jointly on November 9, 2007, by the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The rules require financial institutions and
creditors to develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs
and require issuers of credit cards and debit cards to assess the validity of
notifications of changes of address. The rules also provide guidance for users
of consumer reports regarding reasonable policies and procedures to employ when
consumer reporting agencies send them notices of address discrepancy.
The agencies’ staff have jointly developed
answers to these FAQs to provide guidance on numerous aspects of the rules,
including which types of entities and accounts are covered; establishment and
administration of an Identity Theft Prevention Program; address validation
requirements applicable to card issuers; and the obligations of users of
consumer reports upon receiving a notice of address discrepancy.
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