The Federal Trade Commission has sent to the Federal Register for publication final rules on identity theft “red flags” and address discrepancies. The final rules implement sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

The final rules require each dealership that holds any consumer account, or other account for which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft, to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program (Program) for combating identity theft in connection with new and existing accounts. The Program must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft and enable a dealership to:

The Federal Trade Commission also issued guidelines to assist dealerships in developing and implementing a Program, including a supplement that provides examples of red flags.

In addition, the final rules require users of consumer reports to develop reasonable policies and procedures to apply when they receive a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency.

The final rules are effective on January 1, 2008. Covered dealerships must comply with the rules by November 1, 2008.

To view the guidelines and the Final Rules, go to http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/redflag.shtm

How the software the dealer uses can help with identity theft.