• Vetiranary Medicine
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Fighting identity theft

May 1, 2009
Christina Macejko

Washington - A federal rule requiring businesses, including veterinary practices, to have a written program to spot identification theft takes effect this month.

WASHINGTON — A federal rule requiring businesses, including veterinary practices, to have a written program to spot identification theft and take appropriate steps to respond will begin to be enforced this month.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the federal financial regulatory agencies developed the Red Flags Rule in 2003, but it did not go into effect until November 2008. Due to various entities not realizing that they had to come into compliance, enforcement did not begin until this month, according to the FTC.

The rule requires creditors, including health-care facilities, and financial institutions to develop written programs to identify the warning signs of ID theft, spot them when they occur and take appropriate steps to respond to those warning "red flags."

Advertisement

It is designed to reduce the overall incidence and impact of identity theft, according to the FTC.

In 2007, Consumer Sentinel, the complaint database developed and maintained by the FTC, received more than 800,000 consumer fraud and identity-theft complaints involving losses of more than $1.2 billion.

Credit-card identity theft tops the list as the No. 1 means of identity theft, at 23 percent, according to Consumer Sentinel. Using someone else's identity to falsely obtain utilities or phone service comes in next at 18 percent, followed by falsely gaining employment, bank accounts, government documents or benefits and loans.

While veterinary practices already are required to implement data security practices, the Red Flag Rule picks up where data security leaves off, the FTC states.

"It seeks to prevent identity theft by ensuring that your business or organization is on the lookout for the signs that a crook is using someone else's information, typically to get products or services from you with no intention of paying," the agency warns. "That's why it's important to fight the battle against identity theft on two fronts: First, by implementing data security practices that make it harder for crooks to get access to the personal information they use to open or access accounts, and second, by paying attention to the red flags that suggest that fraud may be afoot."

While identity theft is a problem across the country, the top five hardest-hit states are Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Florida, according to the FTC. The top five hardest-hit cities are Napa, Calif.; Madera, Calif.; Greeley, Colo.; Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas.

For more information on the Red Flags Rule or to download a how-to guide, titled "Fighting Fraud with the Red Flags Rule: A How-To Guide for Business," visit www.ftc.gov/redflagsrule.

In addition, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) plans to offer webinars with an outside specialist to help veterinarians come into compliance.

Related Content:

Market TrendsPractice FinancesTechnicians
Veterinary tech students awarded national scholarship
Veterinary tech students awarded national scholarship
AAHA seeks applicants for its board, including for a newly created veterinary technician role
AAHA seeks applicants for its board, including for a newly created veterinary technician role
Market research: How to find your edge
Market research: How to find your edge

Advertisement

Latest News

Managing wounds in pet patients

Spectrum of care: protocols to support pet owners’ budgets

How to support women while still running a successful business

The Vets expands to Raleigh, NC

View More Latest News
Advertisement