INVESTIGATOR INSIGHT
When IDT* meets AOS**
* Identity Theft ** Acronym Overload Syndrome
Deciphering the acronyms often cited in the world of identity restoration
Whenever identity theft is discussed, various entities and laws
are referenced and often identified by only a set of letters. Avoid
feeling like you are drowning in alphabet soup by learning
what some of the most common initials identify and how that
entity or law is helpful to a victim of identity theft.
Government Entities
FTC (Federal Trade Commission) www.ftc.gov
The FTC is the nation’s consumer protection agency and works
to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices
in the marketplace. The FTC collects consumer complaints
about identity theft and other issues and its website contains
extensive information about identity theft. The FTC ‘s website
indicates the agency distributed more than two million
publications just about identity theft in 2012 alone.
IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) www.ic3.gov
The IC3 is co-sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
Complaints filed via this website are processed and may be
referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement
or regulatory agencies for possible investigation. Any
investigation opened on any complaint filed on this website
is initiated at the discretion of the law enforcement and/or
regulatory agency receiving the complaint information.
IRS IPSU (Internal Revenue Service Identity Protection
Specialized Unit) www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protection
The IRS IPSU assists taxpayers concerned about identity theft.
The website is a source of extensive information and taxpayers
can call the IPSU to confirm issues of identity theft and begin
the process of addressing the matter.
Federal Legislation
FCBA (Fair Credit Billing Act)
Federal law providing rights and procedures that arise in
relation to disputes regarding “open end” credit accounts, such
as credit cards and revolving charge accounts.
FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
Federal law requiring that debt collectors treat debtors fairly
and prohibits certain methods of debt collection.
FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act)
Federal law enacted by Congress in 1970, establishing rights
and duties with respect to credit reporting agencies. See FACTA
for information on amendments made by Congress in 2003.
FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)
Federal law giving specific rights when one is or believes they
are the victim of identity theft. Here’s a brief overview of the
FCRA rights:
1. You have the right to a free copy of your consumer report.
2. You have the right to place a “fraud alert” on your consumer
report.
3. You have the right to obtain documents relating to accounts
opened in your name.
4. You have the right to obtain information from a debt collector.
5. You have the right to block information from your consumer
report that relates to accounts an identity thief opened in
your name.
6. You also may prevent businesses from reporting information
to the consumer reporting agencies about an account in your
name opened by an identity thief.
For more information on the details of these rights see the FTC’s
Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft: Summary of Consumer
Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
A service of the Investigators of Kroll Advisory Solutions
These materials are derived from the research and discovery activities of Kroll Advisory Solutions Fraud Specialists and Licensed Investigators, and have been gathered from personal, historical, and
aggregated experience performing specialized restoration services on behalf of Identity Theft victims. While believed to be accurate, these materials do not constitute legal advice, and are not guaranteed
to be correct, complete or up-to-date. No part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into a language or computer language, in any form by
any means, electronic, mechanical, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the express written consent of Kroll Advisory Solutions. These materials are provided for informational purposes only.
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