Federal rules protecting your identity could soon change

The Federal Trade Commission could soon be making changes to identity theft protection rules and they want the public to weigh in on possible updates.

The agency is looking at the Red Flags Rule and the Card Issuers Rule.

The Red Flag Rule requires banks, financial institutions, and some creditors to implement a written identity theft prevention program designed to detect red flags of identity theft, take steps to prevent it, and mitigate any damage caused by an identity being stolen.

The Card Issuers Rule requires that debit or credit card issuers implement policies and procedures to assess the validity of any change of address requests if the issuer also receives a request for an additional or replacement card for the same account.

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This rule also bars a card issuer from sending additional or replacement cards until it has notified the cardholder about the request.

The FTC is asking the public to weigh in on several questions regarding the rules. The questions include:

• Is there a continuing need for the specific provisions of the rules?
• What benefits have the rules provided to consumers?
• What significant costs, if any, have the rules imposed on consumers?
• What significant costs, if any, have the rules imposed on businesses, including small business?
• Are there any types of creditors that are not currently covered by the Red Flags Rule but should be because they offer or maintain accounts that could be at risk of identity theft?

You can find more information about how to submit your comments on the rules by clicking here. The deadline for submissions if Feb. 11, 2019.