CHAPTER 41
IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION PROGRAM
Section
41.4 Administration of the program
41.6 Response to detected red flags
41.7 Program management and accountability initial risk assessment; covered accounts
41.8 Program updates; risk assessment
41.10 Other legal requirements
41.1 PURPOSE.
The purpose of this identity theft prevention program (“program”) is to protect customers of the utility services provided by the City of Rio Rancho (“City”) from identity theft. The program is intended to establish reasonable policies and procedures to facilitate the detection, prevention and mitigation of identity theft in connection with the opening of new covered accounts and activity on existing covered accounts.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.2 SCOPE.
This program applies to the creation, modification and access to identifying information of a customer of one or more of the utilities operated by the City (water and wastewater) by any and all personnel of the City, including management personnel. This program does not replace or repeal any previously existing policies or programs addressing some or all of the activities that are the subject of this program, but rather it is intended to supplement any such existing policies and programs.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.3 DEFINITIONS.
When used in this program, the following terms have the meanings set forth opposite their name, unless the context clearly requires that the term be given a different meaning:
COVERED ACCOUNT. The term “covered account” means an account that the City offers or maintains, primarily for personal, family or household purposes, that involves or is designed to permit multiple payments of transactions, including a utility account and other accounts offered or maintained by the City for which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk to its customers from identity theft.
IDENTITY THEFT. The term “identity theft” means a fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of another person without authority. (16 CFR § 681.2(b)(8) and 16 CFR § 603.2(a)).
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION. The term “identifying information” means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific person, including any name, social security number, date of birth, official state- or government-issued driver’s license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number. Additional examples of “identifying information” are set forth in 16 CFR § 603.2(a).
RED FLAG. The term “red flag” means a pattern, practice or specific activity that indicates the possible existence of identity theft.
Certain terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the FTC’s identity theft rules (16 CFR Part 681) or the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.), as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-159).
(Ord. 09-27)
41.4 ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM.
(A) The City Financial Services Director or his/her designee, as Program Administrator, may make changes in the program of a day-to-day operational character and decisions relating to the interpretation and implementation of the program. Any significant or policy change to the program shall be made by ordinance duly adopted by the Governing Body.
(B) Development, implementation, administration and oversight of the program will be the responsibility of the Program Administrator. The Program Administrator may, but shall not be required to, appoint a committee to administer the program. The Program Administrator shall be the head of any such committee. The Program Administrator will report at least annually to the City Manager regarding compliance with this program.
(C) Issues to be addressed in the annual identity theft prevention report include:
(1) The effectiveness of the policies and procedures in addressing the risk of identity theft in connection with the opening of new covered accounts and activity with respect to existing covered accounts.
(2) Service provider arrangements.
(3) Significant incidents involving identity theft and management’s response.
(4) Recommendations for material changes to the program, if needed for improvement of the identity theft prevention elements identification of relevant red flags.
(D) The City has considered the guidelines and the illustrative examples of possible red flags from the FTC’s identity theft rules and has reviewed the City’s past history with instances of identity theft, if any. The City hereby determines that the following are the relevant red flags for purposes of this program given the relative size of the City and the limited nature and scope of the services that the City provides to its citizens:
(1) Alerts, notifications, or other warnings received from consumer reporting agencies or service providers.
(a) A fraud or active duty alert is included with a consumer report or an identity verification response from a credit reporting agency.
(b) A consumer reporting agency provides a notice of credit freeze in response to a request for a consumer report.
(c) A consumer reporting agency provides a notice of address discrepancy, as defined in Section 681.1(b) of the FTC’s identity theft rules.
(d) A consumer report indicates a pattern of activity that is inconsistent with the history and usual pattern of activity of an applicant or customer, such as:
1. A recent and significant increase in the volume of inquiries;
2. An unusual number of recently established credit relationships;
3. A material change in the use of credit, especially with respect to recently established credit relationships; or
4. An account that was closed for cause or identified for abuse of account privileges by a financial institution or creditor.
(2) The presentation of suspicious documents.
(a) Documents provided for identification appear to have been altered or forged.
(b) The photograph or physical description on the identification is not consistent with the appearance of the applicant or customer presenting the identification.
(c) Other information on the identification is not consistent with information provided by the person opening a new covered account or customer presenting the identification.
(d) Other information on the identification is not consistent with readily accessible information that is on file with the City, such as a signature card or a recent check.
(e) An application appears to have been altered or forged, or gives the appearance of having been destroyed and reassembled.
(3) The presentation of suspicious personal identifying information, such as a suspicious address change or information inconsistent with other sources.
(a) Personal identifying information provided is inconsistent when compared against external information sources used by the City. For example:
1. The address does not match any address in the consumer report or CRA ID Check response; or
2. The social security number (SSN) has not been issued, or is listed on the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.
(b) Personal identifying information provided by the customer is not consistent with other personal identifying information provided by the customer. For example, there is a lack of correlation between the SSN range and date of birth.
(c) Personal identifying information provided is associated with known fraudulent activity as indicated by internal or third party sources used by the City. For example:
1. The address on an application is the same as the address provided on a fraudulent application; or
2. The phone number on an application is the same as the number provided on a fraudulent application.
(d) Personal identifying information provided is of a type commonly associated with fraudulent activity as indicated by internal or third party sources used by the City. For example:
1. The billing address on an application is fictitious, a mail drop, or a prison; or
2. The phone number is invalid, or is associated with a pager or answering service.
(e) The SSN provided is the same as that submitted by other persons opening a covered account or other customers.
(f) The address or telephone number provided is the same as or similar to the account number or telephone number submitted by an unusually large number of other persons opening accounts or other customers.
(g) The person opening the covered account or the customer fails to provide all required personal identifying information on an application or in response to notification that the application is incomplete.
(h) Personal identifying information provided is not consistent with personal identifying information that is on file with the City.
(i) If the City uses challenge questions, the person opening the covered account or the customer cannot provide authenticating information beyond that which generally would be available from a wallet or consumer report.
(4) The unusual use of, or other suspicious activity related to, a covered account, such as any of the following:
(a) Shortly following the notice of a change of address for a covered account, the City receives a request for the addition of authorized users on the covered account.
(b) A new covered account is used in a manner commonly associated with known patterns of fraud patterns. For example: the customer fails to make the first payment or makes an initial payment but no subsequent payments.
(c) A covered account with a stable history shows irregularities.
(d) A covered account that has been inactive for a reasonably lengthy period of time is used (taking into consideration the type of such account, the expected pattern of usage and other relevant factors).
(e) Mail sent to the customer is returned repeatedly as undeliverable although usage of utility products or services continues in connection with the customer’s covered account.
(f) The City is notified that the customer is not receiving paper account statements.
(g) The City is notified of unauthorized usage of utility products or services in connection with a customer’s covered account.
(5) Notice of possible identity theft. The City is notified by a customer, a victim of identity theft, a law enforcement authority, or any other person that it has opened a fraudulent account for a person engaged in identity theft.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.5 DETECTION OF RED FLAGS.
(A) The employees of the City that interact directly with customers on a day-to-day basis shall have the initial responsibility for monitoring the information and documentation provided by the customer and any third party service provider in connection with the opening of any new covered account and the modification of or access to existing accounts and the detection of any red flags that might arise. Management shall see to it that all employees who might be called upon to assist a customer with the opening of a new covered account or with modifying or otherwise accessing an existing covered account are properly trained such that they have a working familiarity with the relevant red flags identified in this program so as to be able to recognize any red flags that might surface in connection with the transaction. An employee who is not sufficiently trained to recognize the red flags identified in this program shall not open a new covered account for any customer, modify any existing covered account or otherwise provide any customer with access to information in an existing covered account without the direct supervision and specific approval of a management employee. Management employees shall be properly trained such that they can recognize the relevant red flags identified in this program and exercise sound judgment in connection with the response to any unresolved red flags that may present themselves in connection with the opening of a new covered account or with modifying or accessing of an existing covered account. Management employees shall be responsible for making the final decision on any such unresolved red flags.
(B) The Program Administrator shall establish from time to time a written policy setting forth the manner in which a prospective new customer may apply for service, the information and documentation to be provided by the prospective customer in connection with an application for a new covered account, the steps to be taken by the employee assisting the customer with the application in verifying the customer’s identity and the manner in which the information and documentation provided by the customer and any third party service provider shall be maintained. Such policy shall be generally consistent with the spirit of the customer identification program rules (31 CFR § 103.121) implementing Section 326(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act but need not be as detailed. The Program Administrator shall establish from time to time a written policy setting forth the manner in which customers with an existing covered account shall establish their identity before being allowed to make modifications to or otherwise gain access to an existing covered account.
(C) In all contracts the City may have with third party service providers for billing, collection and/or other services relating to covered accounts, the Program Administrator shall require that the third party service provider (“provider”) conduct its activities under such contract in accordance with reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate the risk of identity theft.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.6 RESPONSE TO DETECTED RED FLAGS.
(A) If the responsible employees of the City as set forth in Section 41.5 are unable, after making a good faith effort, to form a reasonable belief that they know the true identity of a customer attempting to open a new covered account or modify or otherwise access an existing covered account based on the information and documentation provided by the customer and any third party service provider, the City shall not open the new covered account or modify or otherwise provide access to the existing covered account as the case may be. Discrimination in respect to the opening of a new covered account or the modification or access to an existing covered account will not be tolerated by employees of the City and shall be subject to the disciplinary action.
(B) The Program Administrator shall establish from time to time a written policy setting forth the steps to be taken in the event of an unresolved red flag situation. Consideration should be given to aggravating factors that may heighten the risk of identity theft, such as a data security incident that results in unauthorized access to a customer’s covered account, or a notice that a customer has provided account information to a fraudulent individual or website. Appropriate responses to prevent or mitigate identity theft when a red flag is detected include:
(1) Monitoring a covered account for evidence of identity theft.
(2) Contacting the customer.
(3) Changing any passwords, security codes, or other security devices that permit access to a covered account.
(4) Reopening a covered account with a new account number.
(5) Not opening a new covered account.
(6) Closing an existing covered account.
(7) Not attempting to collect on a covered account or not selling a covered account to a debt collector.
(8) Notifying law enforcement.
(9) Determining that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.7 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY INITIAL RISK ASSESSMENT; COVERED ACCOUNTS.
Utility accounts for personal, family and household purposes are specifically included within the definition of “covered account” in the FTC’s red flag regulations. Therefore, the City determines that the residential utility accounts it offers and/or maintains are covered accounts. The City has also performed an initial risk assessment to determine whether the City offers or maintains any other accounts for which there are reasonably foreseeable risks to customers of the utility from identity theft. In making this determination, the City considered (A) the methods it uses to open its covered accounts, (B) the methods it uses to access its covered accounts, and (C) its previous experience with identity theft, and it concluded that it does not offer or maintain any such other covered accounts.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.8 PROGRAM UPDATES; RISK ASSESSMENT.
The program, including relevant red flags, is to be updated as often as necessary but at least annually to reflect changes in risks to customers from identity theft. Factors to consider in the program update include:
(A) An assessment of the risk factors identified above.
(B) Any identified red flag weaknesses in associated account systems or procedures.
(C) Changes in methods of identity theft.
(D) Changes in methods to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft.
(E) Changes in business arrangements, including mergers, acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, and service provider arrangements.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.9 TRAINING AND OVERSIGHT.
City Utilities Department staff, other City staff, and third party service providers performing any activity in connection with one or more covered accounts are to be provided appropriate training and receive effective oversight to ensure that the activity is conducted in accordance with policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate the risk of identity theft.
(Ord. 09-27)
41.10 OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
Awareness of the following related legal requirements should be maintained:
(A) 31 U.S.C. § 5318(g) – Reporting of Suspicious Activities.
(B) 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1(h) – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts – Limitations on Use of Information for Credit Extensions.
(C) 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 – Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies.
(D) 15 U.S.C. § 1681m – Requirements on Use of Consumer Reports.
(Ord. 09-27)