On March 20, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission published a Red Flags Rule compliance guide for businesses, entitled “Fighting Fraud with the Red Flags Rule.” The guide offers an overview of the Rule and practical steps businesses need to take to comply. In addition, the guide addresses the issue that has raised the most concern among businesses — the Rule’s scope. As expected, the FTC is interpreting the Rule broadly, suggesting, for example, that any company that sells goods or services and bills customers later is a “creditor” subject to the Rule. According to the guide, “creditors” also may include retailers that merely “process” credit applications. Please visit our blog next week for a detailed analysis of the FTC’s guide. The guide is available here.
