How to find those “red flags” of identity theft
It seems that rarely a day goes by that we don’t catch wind of a case of identity theft. According to an estimate by the FTC1, around nine million Americans’ identities are stolen each year. And with so much jargon like skimming, fraud, and phishing, it’s not surprising that many consumers don’t know what to look out for. With fraudsters developing new schemes every day, the fraudulent use of identities to establish credit and banking accounts promises to challenge consumers and financial institutions alike for years to come.
Most financial services organizations must comply with the “Red Flags Rule,” established by government regulatory agencies. The rule was designed to help businesses fight identity theft fraud by requiring them to have a program to actively look for warning signs of fraudulent activity in everyday operations. This seems like a fairly simple task, but it’s easier said than done with the large amounts of customer information your staff sees in a typical day.
While it may be impossible to completely avoid your customers being exposed to the risk of identity theft, here are three red flags typically noted with fraudulent accounts to help you and your team spot identity theft more easily:
continue reading »
