HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution_18-14_06/12/2014 RESOLUTION NO. 18-14
A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF
TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE VILLAGE "IDENTITY
THEFT PREVENTION PROGRAM" TO INCLUDE USE OF
"MEDALLION SIGNATURE GUARANTEE" AS AN ADDITIONAL
METHOD FOR DETECTING RED FLAGS; PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, the Village Council adopted its Identity Theft Prevention Program (the
"Program ") effective November 1, 2008 in order to comply with the provisions of the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (the "Act ") by adopting Resolution No. 44-08 on
October 9, 2008; and
WHEREAS, the Village Council desires to amend the Program to include the use of
"Medallion Signature Guarantee" as an additional method of detecting Red Flags, which will
assist in verifying signatures of remote customers who may not be able to appear personally at
the Village to conduct business; and
WHEREAS, the Village Council has determined that amending the Identity Theft
Prevention Program would serve the interests, and promote the health, safety and welfare of the
citizens of Tequesta.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF
THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, a municipal corporation,
hereby amends its "Identity Theft Prevention Program ", and adopts said program, as amended, as
attached hereto as Exhibit "A ". The amended Program includes the addition of "Medallion
Signature Guarantee" as a means for detecting Red Flags. Accordingly, the appropriate officers
of the Village Council, the Village Manger, and Village employees who are responsible for
administration of the Plan are hereby authorized and directed to effectuate the intent of the
amended Plan as they may deem necessary and appropriate.
Section 2 : This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
Council.
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The foregoing Resolution was offered by Council Member Okun who moved its adoption. The
motion was seconded by Vice -Mayor Arena and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as
follows:
For Adoption Against Adoption
Mayor Abby Brennan X
Vice -Mayor Vince Arena X
Council Member Steve Okun X
Council Member Tom Paterno X
Council Member Frank D'Ambra X
The Mayor thereupon declared the Resolution duly passed and adopted this 12 day of June 2014.
MAYOR OF TEQUESTA
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Lori McWilliams, MMC ,,,:��•. Q of
Village Clerk
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Water Utility
345 Tequesta Drive
Tequesta, Florida 33469
(561) 768-0700
CERTIFICATION OF IDENTITY
WE HEREBY CERTIFY THAT
and
are
ONE AND THE SAME PERSONS(S)
Signature (Medallion
Guarantee)''
Signature
*If the change is the result of marriage/divorce,we will also require certification by an eligible institution
(bank, stock broker, savings and loan association or credit union)with membership in an approved
signature guarantee medallion program pursuant to Securities Exchange and Commission Rule 17ad-15
that the individual listed above is one and the same person.
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Effective November 1,2008
- Amended June 12, 2014
Village of Tequesta
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Village of Tequesta
Tequesta,Florida 33469
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I. PROGRAM ADOPTION
The Village of Tequesta ("Village") developed this Identity Theft Prevention Program
("Program") for its Utility, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services Departments as well as all
other departments offering or maintaining "covered accounts" ("Departments") pursuant to the
Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Rule ("Rule"), which implements Section 114 of the Fair
and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. 16 C. F. R. § 681.2. This Program was developed
with oversight and approval of the Village Manager and the Village Council. After
consideration of the size and complexity of the various Departments' operations and account
systems, and the nature and scope of the various Departments' activities, the Village Manager
and Village Council determined that this Program was appropriate for the Village, and all of its
Village of Tequesta—Iden[ity Theft Prevention Program
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Departments, and originally approved this Program on October 9, 2008. The Village
subsequently approved certain amendments to the Program on March 12, 2009.
II. PROGRAM PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS
A. Fulfilling requirements of the Red Flags Rule
Under the Red Flag Rule, every financial institution and creditor is required to establish an
"Identity Theft Prevention Program" tailored to its size, complexity and the nature of its
operation. Each program must contain reasonable policies and procedures to:
1. Identify relevant Red Flags for new and existing covered accounts and incorporate those
Red Flags into the Program;
2. Detect Red Flags that have been incorporated into the Program;
3. Respond appropriately to any Red Flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate Identity
Theft; and
4. Ensure the Program is updated periodically, to reflect changes in risks to customers or to
the safety and soundness of the creditor from Identity Theft.
B. Red Flags Rule definitions used in this Program
The Red Flags Rule defines "Identity Theft" as "fraud committed using the identifying
information of another person" and a "Red Flag" as a pattern, practice, or specific activity that
indicates the possible existence of Identity Theft.
According to the Rule, the Village's Departments are creditors subject to the Rule requirements.
The Rule defines creditors "to include finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers,
utility companies, and telecommunications companies. Where non-profit and government
entities defer payment for goods or services, they, too, are to be considered creditors."
All of the Departments' accounts that are individual department service accounts held by
customers of a department whether residential, commercial or industrial are covered by the Rule.
Under the Rule, a"covered account" is:
1. Any account the Departments offer or maintain primarily for personal, family or
household purposes, that involves multiple payments or transactions; and
2. Any other account the Departments offer or maintain for which there is a reasonably
foreseeable risk to customers or to the safety and soundness of the Departments from
Identity Theft.
"Identifying information" is defined under the Rule as "any name or number that may be used,
alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific person," including:
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name, address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth, government issued
driver's license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport
number, employer or taxpayer identification number, unique electronic identification number,
computer's Internet Protocol address, or routing code.
IIL IDENTIFICATION OF RED FLAGS.
In order to identify relevant Red Flags, the Departments consider the types of accounts that they
offer and maintain, the methods they provide to open their accounts, the methods they provide to
access their accounts, and their previous experiences with Identity Theft. The Departments
identify the following red flags, in each of the listed categories:
A. 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 or applicant;
3)Notice or report from a credit agency of an active duty alert for an applicant; and
4) Indication from a credit report of activity that is inconsistent with a customer's usual pattern
or activity.
B. Suspicious Documents
Red Flags
1. Identification document or card that appears to be forged, altered or inauthentic;
2. Identification document or card on which a person's photograph or physical description is
not consistent with the person presenting the document;
3. Other document with information that is not consistent with existing customer
information (such as if a person's signature on a check appears forged); and
4. Application for service that appears to have been altered or forged.
C. Suspicious Personal Identifying Information
Red Flags
L Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other information the customer
provides (example: inconsistent birth dates);
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2. Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other sources of information
(for instance, an address not matching an address on a credit report);
3. Identifying information presented that is the same as information shown on other
applications that were found to be fraudulent;
4. Identifying information presented that is consistent with fraudulent activity (such as an
invalid phone number or fictitious billing address);
5. Social security number presented that is the same as one given by another customer;
6. An address or phone number presented that is the same as that of another person;
7. A person fails to provide complete personal identifying information on an application
when reminded to do so (however, by law social security numbers must not be required);
and
8. A person's identifying information is not consistent with the information that is on file
for the customer.
D. Suspicious Account Activity or Unusual Use of Account
Red Flags
1. Change of address for an account followed by a request to change the account holder's
name;
2. Payments stop on an otherwise consistently up-to-date account;
3. Account used in a way that is not consistent with prior use (example: very high activity);
4. Mail sent to the account holder is repeatedly returned as undeliverable;
5. Notice to the Departments that a customer is not receiving mail sent by the Department;
6. Notice to the Departments that an account has unauthorized activity;
7. Breach in the Departments' computer system security; and
8. Unauthorized access to or use of customer account information.
E. Alerts from Others
Red Fla�
l. Notice to a Department from a customer, identity theft victim, law enforcement or other
person that it has opened or is maintaining a fraudulent account for a person engaged in
Identity Theft.
IV. DETECTING RED FLAGS.
A. New Accounts
In order to detect any of the Red Flags identified above associated with the opening of a new
account,the Departments' personnel will take the following steps to obtain and verify the
identity of the person opening the account:
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Detect
1. Require certain identifying information such as name, date of birth, residential or
business address, principal place of business for an entity, driver's license or other
identification;
2. Verify the customer's identity (for instance, review a driver's license or other
identification card);
3. Review documentation showing the existence of a business entity; and
4. Independently contact the customer.
5. Utilize a "Medallion Signature Guarantee" when deemed to be appropriate, especially in
situations where the customer may not be local, or does not intend to occupy the property
being served.
B. Existing Accounts
In order to detect any of the Red Flags identified above for an existing account, the
Departments' personnel will take the following steps to monitor transactions with an account:
Detect
1. Verify the identification of customers if they request information (in person, via
telephone, via facsimile, via email);
2. Verify the validity of requests to change billing addresses; and
3. Verify changes in banking information given for billing and payment purposes.
4. Utilize a "Medallion Signature Guarantee" when deemed to be appropriate, especially in
situations where the customer may not be local, or does not intend to occupy the property
being served.
V. PREVENTING AND MITIGATING IDENTITY THEFT
In the event the Departments' personnel detect any identified Red Flags, such personnel shall
take one or more of the following steps, depending on the degree of risk posed by the Red Flag:
Prevent and Mitigate
1. Continue to monitor an account for evidence of Identity Theft;
2. Contact the customer;
3. Change any passwords or other security devices that permit access to accounts;
4. Not open a new account;
5. Close an existing account;
6. Reopen an account with a new number;
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7. Notify the Program Administrator for determination of the appropriate step(s) to take;
8. Notify law enforcement; or
9. Determine that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances.
Protect customer identifving information
In order to further prevent the likelihood of identity theft occurring with respect to the
Departments' accounts, the Departments will take the following steps with respect to its internal
operating procedures to protect customer identifying information:
1. Ensure that its website is secure or provide clear notice that the website is not secure;
2. Ensure complete and secure destruction of paper documents and computer files
containing customer information;
3. Ensure that office computers are password protected and that computer screens lock after
a set period of time;
4. Keep offices clear of papers containing customer information;
5. Request only the last 4 digits of social security numbers (if any);
6. Ensure computer virus protection is up to date; and
7. Require and keep only the kinds of customer information that are necessary for
department purposes.
VI. PROGRAM UPDATES
This Program will be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect changes in risks to customers
and the soundness of the Departments from Identity Theft. At least once per year, the Program
Administrator will consider the Departments' experience with Identity Theft situation, changes
in Identity Theft methods, changes in Identity Theft detection and prevention methods, changes
in types of accounts the Departments maintain and change in the Departments' business
arrangements with other entities. After considering these factors, the Program Administrator will
determine whether changes to the Program, including the listing of Red Flags, are warranted. If
warranted, the Program Administrator will update the Program or present the Village Manager
with his or her recommended changes and the Village Manager will make a determination of
whether to accept, modify or reject those changes to the Program.
VII. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.
A. Oversight
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Responsibility for developing, implementing and updating this Program lies with an IdentiTy
Theft Committee for the Departments. The Committee is headed by a Program Administrator
who may be the head of any Department or his or her appointee. Two or more other individuals
appointed by the heads of the various Departments comprise the remainder of the committee
membership. The Program Administrator will be responsible for the Program administration, for
ensuring appropriate training of the Departments' staff on the Program, for reviewing any staff
reports regarding the detection of Red Flags and the steps for preventing and mitigating Identity
Theft, determining which steps of prevention and mitigation should be taken in particular
circumstances and considering periodic changes to the Program.
B. Staff Training and Reports
The Departments' staff responsible for implementing the Program shall be trained either by or
under the direction of the Program Administrator in the detection of Red Flags, and the
responsive steps to be taken when a Red Flag is detected. (The various Departments may
determine how often training is to occur for their staff. The Program may also require staff to
provide reports to the Program Administrator on incidents of Identiry Theft, the Departments'
compliance with the Program and the effectiveness of the Program.)
C. Service Provider Arrangements
In the event any Departments engage a service provider to perform an activity in connection with
one or more accounts, the Department will take the following steps to ensure the service provider
performs its activity in accordance with reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect,
prevent, and mitigate the risk of Identity Theft.
1. Require, by contract, that service providers have such policies and procedures in place;
and
2. Require, by contract, that service providers review the Departments' Program and report
any Red Flags to the Program Administrator.
D. Specific Program Elements and Confidentiality
For the effectiveness of Identity Theft prevention Programs, the Red Flag Rule envisions a
degree of confidentiality regarding the various Departments' specific practices relating to
Identity Theft detection, prevention and mitigation. Therefore, under this Program, knowledge
of such specific practices are to be limited to the Identity Theft Committee and those employees
who need to know them for purposes of preventing Identity Theft. Because this Program is to be
adopted by a public body and is therefore publicly available, it would be counterproductive to list
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these specific practices here. Only the Program's general red flag detection, implementation and
prevention practices are listed in this document.
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