Lawyers – on the hook for identity theft rules?

The FTC is arguing that attorneys should not be exempted as “creditors” under the identity theft act known as “FACTA.”  The American Bar Association is arguing that attorneys shouldn’t be lumped into the category of  “creditors” because that’s too broadly defined and lawyers are generally exempted from federal regulatory agencies without explicit authority.

Not so says the FTC

The agency argues that attorneys who don’t require immediate payment for their services, are creditors under FACTA and will be required to adhere to “red flag” rules when it comes to identity theft.

FTC’s brief is here

Court rules against LifeLock’s fraud alert service

“With a fraud alert on a consumer’s credit profile, banks and other businesses are required to make a reasonable effort to check with a consumer before opening a new line of credit in his or her name.

The consumer normally has to contact a credit reporting bureau directly to place the alert, and then repeat the process every 90 days for as long as the risk remains — a minor hassle that LifeLock and other companies have been happy to help consumers avoid, for a fee. On its face, the business model appeared consistent with FACTA, which allows fraud alerts to be placed by third parties acting on behalf of the consumer.

But in its lawsuit, Experian complained that LifeLock (.pdf) “surreptitiously placed hundreds of thousands” of alerts on Experian files “by posing as the consumer,” even when there was no suspicion of identity theft. LifeLock then renewed the alerts every 90 days.

 Claiming it was losing “millions of dollars every year” processing such requests, Experian asked a judge to rule that LifeLock was engaging in unlawful and unfair business practices under California’s Unfair Competition Law.

U. S. District Judge Andrew Guilford granted the motion (.pdf) last week, finding that federal lawmakers, in writing FACTA, did not intend for consumers to be able to contract with a business to place fraud alerts.”

Alert:

Police target of identity theft

This is the companion story to the police chief robbed at the police convention.  Police are victims of both real and virtual theft.

In this story, an identity theft was arrested for using personal information purloined from 31 current and retired Baton Rouge Louisiana cops that was then used to buy high-end electronics that were re-sold on the street.

Article

Top FTC consumer complaint: identity theft #1

More than 26% of all complaints the agency received in 2008, related to identity theft.  Next was creditor debt collection services at 9%  (Complaints like the sick kid who kept getting collector calls?).  Florida provided a list of its top consumer complaints and had a very different list.  The number one complaint related to the “Do not call” phone registery.

Here is the complete FTC list