[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56402-56404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24615]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Request for Comment; Identity Theft Red Flags and Address 
Discrepancies Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
2003

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION:  Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal 
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing 
information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (PRA).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not 
required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.
    The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its 
information collection titled, ``Identity Theft Red Flags and Address 
Discrepancies under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
2003.''

DATES: Comments must be received by January 14, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if 
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557-0237, 400 
7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Fax: (571) 465-4326.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0237'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish your 
comment on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or 
personal information that you provide, such as name and address 
information, email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, 
including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the 
public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any 
information in your comment or supporting materials that

[[Page 56403]]

you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to 
this information collection beginning on the date of publication of the 
second notice for this collection \1\ by any of the following methods:
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    \1\ Following the close of the 60-day comment period for this 
notice, the OCC will publish a notice for 30 days of comment for 
this collection.
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     Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Click on the ``Information Collection Review'' tab. Underneath the 
``Currently under Review'' section heading, from the drop-down menu, 
select ``Department of Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This 
information collection can be located by searching by OMB control 
number ``1557-0237'' or ``Identity Theft Red Flags and Address 
Discrepancies under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
2003.'' Upon finding the appropriate information collection, click on 
the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' On the next screen, select ``View 
Supporting Statement and Other Documents'' and then click on the link 
to any comment listed at the bottom of the screen.
     For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please 
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.
     Viewing Comments Personally: You may personally inspect 
comments at the OCC, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC. For security 
reasons, the OCC requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect 
comments. You may do so by calling (202) 649-6700 or, for persons who 
are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, (202) 649-5597. Upon arrival, 
visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo 
identification and submit to security screening in order to inspect 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, 
(202) 649-5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, TTY, 
(202) 649-5597, Chief Counsel's Office, Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Under the 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'' is 
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency 
requests and requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of part 44 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal 
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning 
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed 
extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting 
the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, 
the OCC is publishing notice of the proposed extension of this 
collection of information.
    Title: Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies under the 
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.
    OMB Control No.: 1557-0237.
    Description: Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit 
Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) \2\ amended section 615 of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) \3\ to require the Agencies \4\ to issue 
jointly:
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    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 1681m(e).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 1681m.
    \4\ Section 114 required the guidelines and regulations to be 
issued jointly by the federal banking agencies (OCC, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation), the National Credit Union Administration, 
and the Federal Trade Commission. Therefore, for purposes of this 
filing, ``Agencies'' refers to these entities. Note that Section 
1088(a)(8) of the Dodd-Frank Act further amended section 615 of FCRA 
to also require the Securities and Exchange Commission and the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue Red Flags guidelines 
and regulations.
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     Guidelines for financial institutions and creditors 
regarding identity theft with respect to their account holders and 
customers; (in developing the guidelines, the Agencies are required to 
identify patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity that 
indicate the possible existence of identity theft; the guidelines must 
be updated as often as necessary and must be consistent with the 
policies and procedures required under section 326 of the USA PATRIOT 
Act, (31 U.S.C. 5318(l));
     Regulations that require each financial institution and 
each creditor to establish reasonable policies and procedures for 
implementing the guidelines in order to identify possible risks to 
account holders or customers or to the safety and soundness of the 
institution or creditor; and
     Regulations generally requiring credit and debit card 
issuers to assess the validity of change of address requests under 
certain circumstances.
    Section 315 of the FACT Act also amended section 605 of FCRA to 
require the Agencies to issue regulations providing guidance regarding 
what reasonable policies and procedures a user of consumer reports must 
have in place and employ when a user receives a notice of address 
discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency (CRA). These regulations 
are required to describe reasonable policies and procedures for users 
of consumer reports to:
     Enable a user to form a reasonable belief that it knows 
the identity of the person for whom it has obtained a consumer report; 
and
     Reconcile the address of the consumer with the CRA, if the 
user establishes a continuing relationship with the consumer and 
regularly and, in the ordinary course of business, furnishes 
information to the CRA.
    As required by section 114 of the FACT Act, appendix J to 12 CFR 
part 41 contains guidelines for financial institutions and creditors to 
use in identifying patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity 
that may indicate the existence of identity theft. In addition, 12 CFR 
41.90 requires each financial institution or creditor that is a 
national bank, federal savings association, federal branch or agency of 
a foreign bank, and any of their operating subsidiaries that are not 
functionally regulated, to establish an Identity Theft Prevention 
Program (Program) designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity 
theft in connection with accounts. Pursuant to Sec.  41.91, credit card 
and debit card issuers must implement reasonable policies and 
procedures to assess the validity of a request for a change of address 
under certain circumstances.
    Section 41.90 requires each OCC-regulated financial institution or 
creditor that offers or maintains one or more covered accounts to 
develop and implement a Program. In developing a Program, financial 
institutions and creditors are required to consider the guidelines in 
appendix J and include the suggested provisions, as appropriate. The 
initial Program must be approved by the institution's board of 
directors or by an appropriate committee thereof. The board, an 
appropriate committee thereof, or a designated employee at the level of 
senior management must be involved in the oversight of the Program. In 
addition, staff members must be trained to carry out the Program. 
Pursuant to Sec.  41.91, each credit and debit card issuer is required 
to establish and implement policies and procedures to assess the 
validity of a change of address request if it is followed by a request 
for an additional or replacement card. Before issuing the additional or 
replacement card, the card issuer must notify the cardholder of the 
request and provide the cardholder a reasonable means to report 
incorrect address changes or use another means to assess the validity 
of the change of address.

[[Page 56404]]

    As required by section 315 of the FACT Act, Sec.  1022.82 \5\ 
requires users of consumer reports to have in place reasonable policies 
and procedures that must be followed when a user receives a notice of 
address discrepancy from a CRA.
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    \5\ Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act transferred this regulation to the BCFP. The OCC 
retains enforcement authority for this regulation for institutions 
with $10 billion in total assets or less.
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    Section 1022.82 requires each user of consumer reports to develop 
and implement reasonable policies and procedures designed to enable the 
user to form a reasonable belief that a consumer report relates to the 
consumer about whom it requested the report when it receives a notice 
of address discrepancy from a CRA. A user of consumer reports also must 
develop and implement reasonable policies and procedures for furnishing 
a customer address that the user has reasonably confirmed to be 
accurate to the CRA from which it receives a notice of address 
discrepancy when the user can: (1) Form a reasonable belief that the 
consumer report relates to the consumer about whom the user has 
requested the report; (2) establish a continuing relationship with the 
consumer; and (3) establish that it regularly and in the ordinary 
course of business furnishes information to the CRA from which it 
received the notice of address discrepancy.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Individuals; Businesses or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,186.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 132,007 hours.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized, 
included in the request for OMB approval, and become a matter of public 
record. Comments are invited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the OCC, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the OCC's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and
    (e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

    Dated: November 6, 2018.
Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2018-24615 Filed 11-9-18; 8:45 am]
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