Res 1912 - Water/Sewer Identity TheftCOUNCIL BILL NO. 2751
RESOLUTION NO. 1912
A RESOLUTION IMPLEMENTING THE WATER/SEWER UTILITY IDENTITY THEFT
PREVENTION PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the City of Woodburn maintains customer accounts for utility
billing and other purposes that meet the definition of "account systems" per
Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the importance of protecting
municipal utility customers from attempts to steal important personal
information; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to have an internal program that actively looks
for such activity; and
WHEREAS, by adopting the attached program the City of Woodburn is
compliant with the Federal regulations addressing the confidentiality of the
personal information held by the City for customers who maintain accounts;
NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY OF WOODBURN RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City of Woodburn adopts an Identity Theft Prevention
Program to apply to its Municipal utilities pursuant to the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003.
Section 2. A copy of said Identity Theft Prevention Program is attached
as Exhibit "A" to this resolution.
Approved as to form: �' "'�—� �Q �3 2®a
City Attorney Date
Apprved:
Kathryn Figley, M ypl
Page 1 - COUNCIL BILL NO. 2751
RESOLUTION NO. 1912
Passed by the Council
Submitted to the Mayor
Approved by the Mayor
Filed in the Office of the Recorder
ATTEST:
Mary T nnant City Recorder
City of Woodburn, Oregon
Page 2 — COUNCIL BILL NO. 2751
RESOLUTION NO. 1912
October 27, 2008
October 29, 2008
October 29, 2008
October 29, 2008
EXHIBIT" A
Page I _.--
City of Woodburn
Water/Sewer Utility
Identity Theft Prevention Program
Effective November 1, 2008
I. PROGRAM ADOPTION
The City of Woodburn Water/Sewer Utility ("Utility") developed this Identity Theft
Prevention Program ("Program") pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Rule
("Rule") ,(16 C. F. R. § 681.2), which implements Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003 and ORS 646A.622. This Program was developed with oversight
by the Finance Director and approved of the City of Woodburn City Council. After consideration of
the size and complexity of the Utility's operations and account systems, and the nature and scope of
the Utility's activities, the City of Woodburn City Council has determined that this Program was
appropriate for the City of Woodburn, and therefore approved this Program on October 27, 2008.
II. PROGRAM PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS
A. Fulfilling requirements of the Red Flags Rule
Under the Red Flag Rule, every 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
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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, a municipal utility is a creditor 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 the Utility's accounts that are individual utility service accounts held by customers of the Utility
whether residential, commercial or industrial are covered by the Rule. Under the Rule, a "covered
account" is:
1. Any account the Utility offers or maintains primarily for personal, family or household
purposes, that involves multiple payments or transactions; and
2. Any other account the Utility offers or maintains for which there is a reasonably foreseeable
risk to customers or to the safety and soundness of the Utility 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: 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.
III. IDENTIFICATION OF RED FLAGS.
In order to identify relevant Red Flags, the Utility considers the types of accounts that it
offers and maintains, the methods it provides to open its accounts, the methods it provides to access
its accounts, and its previous experiences with Identity Theft. The Utility identifies the following
red flags, in each of the listed categories:
A. Suspicious Documents
Red Flaks
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.
B. Suspicious Personal Identifying Information
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Red Flags
1. Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other information the customer
provides (example: inconsistent birth dates);
2. Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other sources of information
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. An address or phone number presented that is the same as that of another person;
6. 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
7. A person's identifying information is not consistent with the information that is on file
for the customer.
C. 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 Utility that a customer is not receiving mail sent by the Utility;
6. Notice to the Utility that an account has unauthorized activity;
7. Breach in the Utility's computer system security; and
8. Unauthorized access to or use of customer account information.
D. Alerts from Others
Red Flag
1. Notice to the Utility 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, Utility personnel will take the following steps to obtain and verify the identity of
the person opening the account:
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Detect
I . 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. Review documentation showing the existence of a business entity; and/or
3. Independently contact the customer.
B. Existing Accounts
In order to detect any of the Red Flags identified above for an existing account, Utility
personnel will take the following steps to extent possible 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 payment purposes.
V. PREVENTING AND MITIGATING IDENTITY THEFT
In the event Utility personnel detect 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. Not open a new account;
4. Close an existing account;
5. Reopen an account with a new number;
6. Notify the Finance Director for determination of the appropriate step(s) to take;
7. Notify law enforcement; or
S. Determine that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances.
Protect customer identifying information
In order to further prevent the likelihood of Identity Theft occurring with respect to
Utility accounts, the Utility will take the following steps with respect to its internal operating
procedures to protect customer identifying information:
1. Ensure that its website is secure;
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2. Ensure complete and secure destruction of paper documents and computer files
containing customer information;
3. Will not record or maintain a list of Social Security numbers;
4. Will not record or maintain a list of drivers' license numbers;
5. Will record credit card numbers only long enough to complete the current transaction.
Any written record of credit card numbers will be destroyed immediately following
completion of the current transaction;
6. Will not maintain records of credit card numbers for ongoing repeated transaction. All
credit card transactions must be initiated individually by the customer;
7. Ensure that office computers are password protected;
8. Keep offices clear of papers containing customer information;
9. Ensure computer virus protection is up to date; and
10. Require and keep only the kinds of customer information that are necessary for utility
purposes.
VI. PROGRAM UPDATES
The Finance Director will review and update this Program at least once a year to reflect
changes in risks to customers and the soundness of the Utility from Identity Theft. In doing so, the
Finance Director will consider the Utility's experiences with Identity Theft situations, changes in
Identity Theft methods, changes in Identity Theft detection and prevention methods, and changes in
the Utility's business arrangements with other entities. After considering these factors, the Finance
Director will determine whether changes to the Program, including the listing of Red Flags, are
warranted. If warranted, the Finance Director will update the Program or present the City of
Woodburn City Council with his or her recommended changes and the City of Woodburn City
Council will make a determination of whether to accept, modify or reject those changes to the
Program.
VII. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.
A. Oversight
Responsibility for developing, implementing and updating this Program lies with an Identity
Theft Committee for the Utility. The Committee is headed by the Finance Director or his or her
appointee. Two or more other individuals appointed by the City Administrator for the City of
Woodburn or the Finance Director comprise the remainder of the committee membership. One of the
members should have detailed technical knowledge of the Utility's computer information systems.
The Finance Director will be responsible for the Program administration, for ensuring appropriate
training of Utility 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
EXHIBIT �-
Utility staff responsible for implementing the Program shall be trained either by or under the
direction of the Finance Director in the detection of Red Flags, and the responsive steps to be taken
when a Red Flag is detected. Utility staff will provide reports to the Finance Director on incidents of
Identity Theft.
Department Heads are responsible to be familiar with the Identity Theft Protection Act and
to meet with their staff to assess current compliance and document appropriate safeguard practices in
writing.
C. Service Provider Arrangements
In the event the Utility engages a service provider to perform an activity in connection with
one or more accounts, the Utility 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 Utility's Program and report any
Red Flags to the Finance Director.
D. Non -disclosure of Specific Practices
For the effectiveness of this Identity Theft Prevention Program, knowledge about specific
Red Flag identification, detection, mitigation, and prevention practices must be limited to the
Identity Theft Committee who developed this Program and to those employees with a need to know
them. Any documents that may have been produced or are produced in order to develop or
implement this program that list or describe such specific practices and the information those
documents contain are considered "Security information" (as defined in the following paragraph)
and are unavailable to the public because disclosure of them would be likely to substantially
jeopardized the security of information against improper use, that use being to circumvent the
Utility's Identity Theft prevention efforts in order to facilitate the commission of Identity Theft.
"Security information" is defined as government data the disclosure of which would be
likely to substantially jeopardize the security of information, possessions, individuals or
property against theft, tampering, improper use, attempted escape, illegal disclosure, trespass,
or physical injury.
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