The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is delaying enforcement of the Red Flags rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC. The extension follows previous delays that were set to expire on Nov. 1. The Rule was promulgated under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC and other agencies to develop regulations requiring “creditors” and “financial institutions” to address the risk of identity theft. The resulting Red Flags rule requires all such entities that have “covered accounts” to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities – known as “red flags” – that could indicate identity theft.
Read the FTC announcement.
