Legal Alert - May 1, 2009

FTC Announces 3 Month Delay in “Red Flag” Rule Enforcement

The FTC announced late yesterday that it will delay enforcement of the “Red Flag” Rule for an additional three months – to August 1, 2009 – to give creditors more time to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs.  The FTC also announced that it would soon be releasing a template for entities that have a low risk of identity theft, such as businesses that know their customers personally, to use in developing programs.  The FTC has previously said that it views health care entities as having a high risk of identity theft, so the template may provide minimal guidance for health care providers.