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There are primarily three topics that I wanted to bring up in this issue. First, it’s a new tax season and some of us may be looking for a new tax preparer. When considering the horror stories of a few corrupt tax preparers reported in online media, it is very important to ask for references, get referrals and complete some type of background check when attempting to hire a new tax accountant. Here’s a related article posted on my blog. Second, when we consider the 2010 security incidents which affect millions of consumers and their personal information, everything seems to remain almost the same including causes of breaches such as loss of unencrypted information, intrusions, service provider negligence, and paper based privacy disclosures. Read my analysis of 2010 security incidents here. Lastly, Red Flags Rule is in full enforcement by the FTC and others. As you may know, the Red Flag law requires many companies to develop and implement a written identity theft prevention program. Affected companies include banks, loan associations, credit unions, finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, and telecommunications companies which offer credit card accounts, mortgage loans, automobile loans, margin accounts, cell phone accounts, utility accounts, checking accounts, and savings accounts. Identity Management Institute now offers the Certified Red Flag Specialist (CRFS) program to train and certify those responsible for fighting identity theft red flags in a company. You can learn more about the Red Flag law here. Other Recent Articles Red Flags Rules - The Red Flags rules are the set of requirements that financial institutions and creditors must follow to implement the necessary controls to prevent, detect and respond to identity theft. ATM Fraud - It has been reported in a few places that ATM fraud is on the rise and that bank ATMs are the most affected or rather the main contributors of all cash dispenser fraud. This is true, yet misleading. Until next time, be identity safe, |