[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 60 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14810-14812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5818]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The 
Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is seeking public 
comments on its proposal to extend through June 30, 2010 the current 
OMB clearance for information collection requirements

[[Page 14811]]

contained in its Identity Theft Report Definition Rule (``Rule''). That 
clearance expires on June 30, 2007.

DATES: Comments must be filed by May 29, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``IDT Report Rule: FTC Matter No. R411002,'' 
to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper 
form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope 
and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in the 
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please 
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed 
below. However, if the comment contains any material for which 
confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form, 
and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential.'' \1\
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    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must also 
be accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by following 
the instructions on the Web-based form at https://secure.commentworks.com/IDTReportRule. To ensure that the Commission 
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the Web-based form 
at the https://secure.commentworks.com/IDTReportRule weblink. If this 
notice appears at www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic 
comment through that Web site. The Commission will consider all 
comments that regulations.gov forwards to it.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be 
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the 
FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of 
discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact 
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before 
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's 
privacy policy at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be addressed to Kristin Krause Cohen, Attorney, Division of 
Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal 
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-2252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for 
each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' means agency requests or requirements that members of the 
public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third 
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for 
public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork 
clearance for the regulations noted herein.
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the required collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the required 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to 
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section 
above, and must be received on or before May 29, 2007.
    The Identity Theft Report Definition Rule, 16 CFR Part 603, was 
promulgated pursuant to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act 
of 2003 (``FACT Act'' or the ``Act''), amending the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act, which established requirements for consumer reporting 
agencies, creditors, and others to help remedy problems associated with 
identity theft. Under the Act, an individual can mitigate a number of 
specific harms resulting from identity theft by providing an identity 
theft report to consumer reporting agencies and information furnishers. 
For example, with an identity theft report, an identity theft victim 
can obtain a seven year fraud alert or seek to block fraudulent 
information on their credit report. Pursuant to the FACT Act, the Rule 
defined the term ``identity theft report,'' 16 CFR 603.5, and became 
effective on December 1, 2004.
    Burden statement: Commission staff estimates of paperwork burden 
for the Act and Rule are based on its knowledge of identity theft 
trends and an identity theft study report, Federal Trade Commission--
Identity Theft Survey Report (Survey Report), prepared for the 
Commission by Synovate, and issued in September 2003.\2\ Staff 
estimates that the average annual paperwork burden for the three-year 
clearance period sought is 586,000 hours with associated annual labor 
cost burden of $10.911 million.
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    \2\ See Synovate survey at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf.
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    To derive the estimated total annual hours burden and the estimated 
labor cost burden, staff first determined the increase in the number of 
individuals who obtain identity theft reports as a result of the 
Identity Theft Report Definition Rule. In its 2004 notice of proposed 
rulemaking \3\ and corresponding submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated 
that the then-proposed rule would increase by 1.529 million the number 
of individuals obtaining identity theft reports annually. No provisions 
in the Rule have been amended since staff's prior submission to OMB. 
Accordingly, absent additional public information to the contrary, 
staff will continue to apply that estimate, which is explained below.
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    \3\ 69 FR 23370 (Apr. 28, 2004), at 23375.
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    The Survey Report indicates that there are 9.91 million individuals 
victimized by identity theft each year.\4\ Twenty-six percent of those 
individuals, or 2.577 million, contact a local law enforcement 
agency.\5\ Seventy-six percent of the 2.577 million, or 1.958 million, 
file a police report alleging identity theft.\6\ Staff anticipates 
that, as both individuals and police departments become increasingly 
aware of the benefits of obtaining an ``identity theft report'' under 
the Act, the number of individuals who ultimately obtain an identity 
theft report will likely increase because the Rule facilitates a 
victim's ability to file a law enforcement report.
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    \4\ Survey Report at 7.
    \5\ Id. at 59. All calculations in this section have been 
rounded to the nearest thousand.
    \6\ Id.
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    The Survey Report indicated that 618,000 victims who contact local 
law enforcement annually are unable to file

[[Page 14812]]

a police report.\7\ Thus, staff estimates that the Rule will enable 
those victims who previously were unable to file reports with local law 
enforcement to now file reports with a state or federal law enforcement 
agency. Second, 4.261 million victims annually contact an information 
furnisher.\8\ Staff estimates, based on its knowledge of identity theft 
trends, that the Rule will result in an increase of 10%, or 426,000, of 
these victims obtaining an identity theft report. Third, 646,000 
victims do not take any action even though their information was used 
to open new accounts or to commit other frauds.\9\ Staff estimates, 
based on its knowledge of identity theft trends, that the Rule will 
likely result in 75%, or 485,000, of these victims obtaining identity 
theft reports. In sum, staff estimates that the Rule will increase by 
1.529 million the number of individuals obtaining identity theft 
reports (618,000 + 426,000 + 485,000).
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    \7\ Id. (24% of the 2.577 million victims who contacted law 
enforcement did not obtain a copy of a police report).
    \8\ Id. at 50 (43% of all 9.91 million victims contact an 
information provider).
    \9\ Based upon staff's analysis of data collected in the survey, 
these types of victims constitute 20% of the 3.23 million victims 
each year whose information is used to open new accounts or commit 
other frauds.
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    Estimated total annual hours burden: 586,000 hours (rounded to the 
nearest thousand).
    In its 2004 notice of proposed rulemaking and corresponding 
submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated, based on the experience of the 
Commission's Consumer Response Center, that an individual would spend 
an average of 5 minutes finding and reviewing filing instructions, 8 
minutes filing the law enforcement report with the law enforcement 
agency, and 5 minutes submitting the law enforcement report and any 
additional information or documentation to the information furnisher or 
consumer reporting agency, resulting in an average of 18 minutes for 
each identity theft report.
    Staff now estimates, based on the ongoing experience of the 
Commission's Consumer Response Center, that an individual will spend 5 
minutes finding and reviewing filing instructions, 13 minutes filing 
the law enforcement report with the law enforcement agency (due to 
added entry fields), and 5 minutes submitting the law enforcement 
report and any additional information or documentation to the 
information furnisher or consumer reporting agency, resulting in an 
average of 23 minutes for each identity theft report. Thus, the annual 
information collection burden for the estimated 1.529 million new 
identity theft reports due to the Rule will be 586,000 hours. [(1.529 
million x 23 minutes)/60 minutes]
    Estimated labor costs: $10,911,000 (rounded to the nearest 
thousand).
    Commission staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate hourly 
cost figures to the burden hours described above. According to the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics survey from June 2005, the average national 
wage for individuals was $18.62.\10\ Applying this average national 
wage to the 586,000 burden hours results in an estimated $10.911 
million labor cost burden on individuals who obtain identity theft 
reports ($18.62 x 586,000 hours).
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    \10\ The hourly rates are based on average annual Bureau of 
Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey data, June 2005 (with 
2005 as the most recent whole year information available, and June 
the focal median point). http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0832.pdf 
(see Table 1.1).
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    Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal.
    Staff believes that the Rule's paperwork burden imposes negligible 
capital or other non-labor costs, as an identity theft victim is likely 
to have the necessary supplies and/or equipment already (telephone, 
computer, paper, envelopes) for purposes of obtaining the identity 
theft report and submitting it to information furnishers or consumer 
reporting agencies.

William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E7-5818 Filed 3-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P