Health Information Compliance Alert
Security News:
Identity Theft Task Force Implements Protections
Published on Sat Mar 10, 2007 
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Learn what the government is doing to keep your private information safe.
The Identity Theft Task Force, formed last May at the request of President Bush, is co-chaired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and has several aims, including:
- Making individuals and organizations better able to identify and prosecute identity thieves;
- Minimizing the risk of identity theft for individuals and organizations by teaching them how to protect themselves;
- Minimizing the consequences of identity theft for victims by helping them recover from incidents; and
- Better safeguarding personal information held by the government.
As part of its final report preparations in September 2006, the task force made recommendations for three measures to be implemented immediately:
- that federal agencies receive specific, step-by-step instructions that they can use in the event of a data breach.
- the creation of a uniform police report for identity theft cases.
- reducing the number of documents circulating with Social Security Numbers on them.
Resources:
To learn more about how to protect yourself from identity theft or wish to report an incident, call 1-877-ID-THEFT or go online at http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft. The Office for Victims of Crime has a website devoted to the needs of identity theft victims: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/focuson2005/identitytheft/welcome.html.Other Articles in this issue of
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