Pub. 3 2018 Issue 6

16 www.ctaahq.org L andlords are required to adopt reasonable policies in an attempt to prevent identity theft of their prospective, current and past residents. There are rules and laws that have been put in place that must be followed by community owners and management company employees due to the handling of proprietary personal information obtained from residents. This policy should be included in your company’s P&P manual. Pursuant to the FTC’s Red Flags Rule which implements Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, a landlord may be considered a “creditor” based upon the FTC’s current interpretation because it may collect rent delinquencies and it relies on consumer reports that ask for sensitive information including Social Security Numbers and addresses. The Rule’s purpose is to keep sensitive informa- tion secure to prevent identity theft. Identity Theft is defined as “fraud committed using the iden- tifying information of another person”. A Red Flag is defined as “a pattern, practice, or specific activi- ty that indicates the possible existence of Identity Theft.” Identifying Information is defined under the Rule as “any name or number that may be used to identify a specific person including name, address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth, government issued driver’s license or ID #, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or tax ID #, unique electronic ID #, computer IP address, or a routing code. Identification of Red Flags: The following Red Flags may arise doing business in each of the following categories: Notifications and Warnings from Credit Reporting Agencies Red Flags: 1. Report of fraud accompanying a credit report; 2. Notice or report from a credit agency of a credit freeze on a customer; 3. Notice or report of an active duty alert for an applicant from credit agency; 4. Indication from a credit report of activity that is inconsis- tent with usual pattern of activity. Protect Your Residents’ Identity Elaine Simpson, Occupancy Solutions LLC