November 1 Red Flag Rule deadline

November 1 marks the deadline for the City of Fort Scott and the City of Nevada (Mo.) to approve their Identity Theft Protection Plans.

The Federal Trade Commission, in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 has issued regulations called the "Red Flag Rules" requiring financial institutions and creditors to implement and Identity Theft Protection Plan. Because the cities provide utilities, they are considered to be a creditor.

"I think it is important to protect our customers, when you hand somebody your social security number, you want to know that it is secure," said City of Fort Scott Director of Finance, Susan Brown.

A "Red Flag" is a pattern, practice or specific activity that indicates the possible existence of identity theft.

The written protection plan would state that passwords are being used on employee's computers and keeping private customer records locked. Both Fort Scott and Nevada already require a form of photo identification when signing up for utilities.

"We really have not had any problems in the past," said Brown.

These plans will be reviewed annually so that it may be adapted to any changes in procedure, equipment, or technology.

There are not going to be any major changes with this protection program. The cities must simply document what their form of protection is.

"We aren't changing anything, we've always done this," said Brown.