CalBizCentral, the compliance division of the California Chamber of Commerce has made available a new solution to help businesses comply with new federal rules, which went into effect November 1, mandating how financial institutions and other businesses manage cases involving suspicious credit transactions.

Among other things, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) mandates that these institutions train employees to recognize “red flags” that indicate suspicious credit transactions.

Through a new partnership with WeComply, a leading compliance training solution company, CalBizCentral now offers a 30-minute online Preventing Identity Theft Compliance Training to help meet these requirements. This program is the result of collaboration between Proskauer Rose, an international law firm with a leading data security and privacy department, and WeComply. It’s available at www.calbizcentral.com or by calling (800) 331-8877.

The new regulations under the FACTA are intended to make the way companies handle consumer account information – such as names, addresses and Social Security numbers – more secure. The regulations include a list of “red flags” that apply to a broad range of companies, from auto dealers and banks to mortgage brokers and telecommunications companies.

“As identity theft continues to run rampant, financial institutions and creditors are now required to design programs and policies to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft,” said Tanya L. Forsheit, partner with Proskauer Rose LLP and a consultant working with CalBizCentral and CalChamber. “About 10 million people are victimized each year, but if businesses are alert to suspicious activity, they can do a lot to prevent identity theft and limit the damage it can cause if it does happen.”

Some examples of “red flag” warning signs include:

- A consumer report inconsistent with a customer’s history, such as a sudden increase of activity or use in a foreign country.

- A photograph, physical description or other identifying information that is not consistent with the appearance of an applicant or customer.

- Inconsistent personal information, such as an address presented with an application that does not match any address in the consumer report.

- Following a notice of change of address, the financial institution receives a request for a new, additional or replacement card or for the addition of authorized users on the account.

- The majority of available credit is used for cash advances or merchandise that is easily convertible to cash, such as electronics or jewelry.

- Mail sent to the customer is returned repeatedly as undeliverable although transactions continue.

“The FACTA Red Flags Rule applies to creditors and financial institutions; however, as a matter of best practice, every company that handles consumer data should prepare and implement an internal security policy and be alert to similar red flags,” Forsheit continued.

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it will not enforce the new Red Flag Rules until May 1, 2009, this announcement does not affect companies subject to the enforcement agencies other than the FTC. Those agencies include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Controller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration.

About CalBizCentral

CalBizCentral is a one-stop site for products that answer California and federal labor law and HR questions, alleviate confusion and allow businesses to focus their time and effort on their work. For more information or to review CalBizCentral’s products, please visit www.calbizcentral.com.

About CalChamber

The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is the largest broad-based business advocate to government in California. Membership represents one-quarter of the private sector jobs in California and includes firms of all sizes and companies from every industry within the state. Leveraging its front-line knowledge of laws and regulations, it provides products and services to help businesses comply with both federal and state law. CalChamber, a not-for-profit organization with roots dating to 1890, promotes international trade and investment in order to stimulate California's economy and create jobs. Please visit www.calchamber.com for more information.

About WeComply

WeComply offers this growing catalog of online compliance training programs. Each program is written by an experienced practitioner and edited by attorneys with a proven track record in interactive computer-based training. WeComply’s customized corporate training programs are compliant with the AICC and SCORM standards — the industry standards for e-learning interoperability — so they can be launched and tracked from any of the leading learning management systems (LMS) including CalBizCentral’s system.