In November 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (and five federal bank regulatory agencies including the FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, OTS and NCUA) established final rules and regulations regarding Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies to help combat the nation’s fastest growing “white collar crime”— Identity Theft.

The Red Flag Rules are aimed at helping financial institutions and creditors such as banks, credit unions, auto dealers, mortgage brokers, utility, telecommunications, and other transaction account-based companies detect identity theft by requiring that they establish an Identity Theft Prevention Program.