Red Flag Policy

IN NOVEMBER 2007,  THE U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) ESTABLISHED A SET OF RULES FOR REGULATING ACCESS TO PRIVATE INFORMATION. THESE RULES TARGET THE FINANCE, AUTOMOTIVE, MORTGAGE, HEALTH CARE AND INSURANCE INDUSTRIES.

CONSUMERS ARE  ENCOURAGED TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM POTENTIAL FINANCIAL HARM BY ENSURING THAT ALL COMPANIES THEY DO BUSINESS WITH ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE NEW RULES.

ConnecTGo, Inc. HAS MANY CLIENT COMPANIES THAT ARE IN THE AFOREMENTIONED INDUSTRY SECTORS , AND THEREFORE HAVE DEVELOPED A RED FLAG POLICY TO MEET THESE COMPLIANCES/RULES.

WHAT IS A RED FLAG?  A Red Flag can be any pattern, practice or activity that triggers the suspicion that identity theft may have occurred.

WHO MUST COMPLY?  Any and all financial institutions, organizations,  and companies that:

• Amass and utilize confidential, personal customer/end-user information
• Work with a credit reporting bureau
• Retain/maintain accounts for personal or business usage

Non-compliance fines range from $1,000 to $2,500 for each violation and could bring into play class action suits.

ConnecTGo, Inc. has already provided some of its clients with the 13-page Red Flag Policy that It has developed.  It’s Federal Law, like it or not!  Your company needs to be in full compliance with the FACT Act Identity Theft Red Flag and Address Discrepancy rulings.

The 13-page Red Flag Policy meets all the requirements that Financial Institutions need to fulfill their own legal requirements, via their supplier network – namely YOU!

On 1 November, 2008, companies with “covered accounts” must be in compliance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) Identity Theft Red Flag (FACT Act Section 114) and Address Discrepancy (FACT Act Sections 114 and 315) rulings.  (NOTE:  The FTC has extended the deadline to 1 May 2009 but there are many corporations/companies/organizations that are already requiring their suppliers  to have a Red Flag Policy in place, if they are to do business with them).

BENEFITS

• Enchanced customer confidence and satisfaction
• Minimizes fraudulent activity that costs time and money to investigate
• Improvement in profits
• Industry specific standard that meets all the requirements of the FACTA laws and all Financial Institutions requirements
• Automates FACT Act compliance
• A solution that  if you implement correctly will provide proactive detection of compromised accounts before fraud occurs
• Increases new account approvals of non-verified name at an address
• Reduces manual review, operational expenses and fraud losses
• ConnecTGo, Inc. provides an updating support service for the Red Flag Policy

Call 330 357 5101 and/or e-mail salmarston@connectgo.biz to place your order.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)…” the Red Flags Rule was developed pursuant to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003.  Under the Rule, Financial Institutions and creditors with covered accounts must have identity theft prevention programs to identify, detect and respond to patterns, practices or specific activities that could indicate identity theft.  The Rule applies to creditors and financial institutions.  Federal Law defines a creditor to be: any entity that regularly extends, renews or continuous credit; any entity that regularly arranges for extension, renewal, or continuation of credit; or any assignee of an original creditor who is involved in the decision to extend, renew or continue credit.   Accepting credit cards as a form of payment does not, in and of itself, make an entity a creditor.  Some examples of creditors are finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, telecommunication companies and non-profit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services. …..”

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in this country and 9 million Americans have their identity stolen each year, with disastrous effects.  This is a very serious situation and thankfully our Government have seen it as such to enforce the FACTA laws.

You may ask – HOW THE FACTA RED FLAG LAW AFFECTS YOUR BUSINESS?  Well, this new law provision has established a higher level of responsibility associated with identity theft for businesses.  This increased liability can cause financial ruin for those companies who do not have a proactive Red Flag Policy in place and you need to keep up to date with all the updates that will be issued to ensure that your processes, procedures and systems, continue to support the Red Flag Policy you have in place.

The law went into effect 1 June 2005.  You may recognize the FACTA law as allowing Americans access to their credit reports once a year.

The affect to you?  Your company is now liable for identity theft under FACTA and that liability alone could not only lose you clients but could destroy your company as a whole.

You are also responsible for ensuring that your employees, irrespective of their job eg., office staff, field agents, drivers etc., are aware of the Policy and also that they are trained accordingly in all elements of its content.

If you are interested in these services, please e-mail  salmarston@connectgo.biz and you will be sent the information and associated costs for these services.