According to a news release, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is delaying enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule for financial institutions and creditors with covered accounts to implement an identity theft program – scheduled to take effect November 1, 2009 – until June 1, 2010, at the request of Members of Congress.

Created under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, the Red Flags Rule set to take effect next June 1 will require “creditors” and “financial institutions” that have “covered accounts” to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities – known as “red flags” – that could indicate identity theft.

The FTC – which works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them – had previously delayed the enforcement of the Red Flags Rule for identity theft until November 1, 2009 before extending the deadline to June 1, 2010.

To help businesses understand the “Red Flags” rule for identity theft, Pre-Employ.com – a leading provider of employment-related services – offers a free webinar on the Red Flags rule titled “Identity Theft: A User's Responsibilities under the FACT Act Red Flag Regulations” available for on demand viewing at http://www.pre-employ.com/RedFlagsRule. For more information about the Red Flags Rule and identity theft, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. Follow Pre-Employ.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.

tahearn@pre-employ.com

*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!