The Star Ledger reports that starting later this year, financial institutions, along with any business acting as a creditor, must comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s “Red Flags Rule.” This means that businesses must implement plans to protect their customers from identity theft.

The law will go into effect Nov. 1. Besides banks and credit unions, businesses that fall under the rule include companies that issue their own credit cards, grant loans or regularly defer payments for goods and services and bill their customers later. These include utility companies, health care providers, telecommunications companies, mortgage brokers, finance companies, car dealers and retailers, according to the FTC.

SC Magazine reports that a temporary employee at a Chicago-area AT&T office allegedly stole the personal information of 2,100 AT&T employees.

Two other people were indicted and charged with stealing $70,000 by applying for “payday loans” using stolen confidential data, according to an indictment.

The three women, Cassandra Walls, Jermaine Jones, and Deedra Massey, forged driver’s licenses bearing the names of victims, using photos of random people, and faxed them as part of the loan applications. They set up bank accounts and had the loan money wired to them, according to the indictment. The three are charged with five counts each of federal wire fraud and identity theft.
A company called PayDay One took information for the loan applications over the internet, for 130 victims – except that the applications were allegedly made “without the knowledge or consent” of the victims.

Prosecutors in New York indicted 18 people for operating a bank fraud and identity theft scheme that resulted in the cashing of more than 1,000 counterfeit checks at several large banks, according to Reuters.

The 227-count indictment accused the defendants of collecting customers’ personal data with the help of bank employees they recruited for the operation, and using the data to manufacture thousands of fake checks.

The Reuters article says at least 17 banks were targeted, and at least 1,017 counterfeit checks were deposited in Manhattan branches. Among the roughly 350 compromised accounts were those of New York City’s police department, board of education, finance department, housing authority and transit authority, as well as corporate accounts of Bed Bath & Beyond, designer Diane von Furstenberg, Cablevision Corp’s Madison Square Garden and several hospitals.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, a new report shows that Americans are more afraid of cyber thieves and other fraudsters getting into their wallets than they are of terror attacks on the country.

The Unisys Security Index conducted a survey that shows that job losses, salary cuts and the general strain of economic uncertainty have increased consumers’ fears of being victimized. The biannual study samples consumer attitudes about security issues. The most recent survey polled 1,000 Americans and was conducted this year by the Lieberman Research Group.

The survey found that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the global recession has made them more vulnerable to identity theft or some other fraud.

More than two-thirds of respondents said they were ”extremely” or ”very” concerned about having their credit card information stolen, and 90 percent are at least somewhat concerned, according to the report, which was released this week.

More than 40 percent of Americans were found to be extremely or very concerned about viruses or unsolicited e-mails. Middle-age Americans, especially, have deep suspicions about conducting business online. Forty-nine percent of people surveyed in the 45 to 54 age group are ”extremely” or ”very” concerned about the security of shopping or banking online.

The Associated Press reports that a Huntington Beach woman used a fake identity to get breast implants and liposuction. She opened a line of credit using someone else’s name and Social Security number, and then rang up $12,000 in plastic surgery charges at the Pacific Center For Plastic Surgery.

Employees said she never returned for follow-up visits.

The woman turned herself in Tuesday and was released on $20,000 bail. She faces charges of commercial burglary, grand theft and identity theft.