EFFECTIVE DATE: August 02, 2019
ISSUE #: 2
PRESIDENT: Juan Sánchez Muñoz
PURPOSE
This policy statement establishes the policy and procedures designed to detect, prevent and
mitigate identity theft in connection with covered accounts pursuant to the Federal Trade
Commission's (“FTC”) Red Flags Rule, which implements Section 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. This Program was developed with oversight
and approval of the University of Houston-System Board of Regents and in conjunction with
the SAM 01.C.14, Identity Theft. After consideration of the size and complexity of the
university's operations and account systems, and the nature and scope of the university's
activities, the Program outlined herein provides appropriate guidelines for University of
Houston-Downtown (UHD) operations.
DEFINITIONS
2.1 Identity Theft: A fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of
another person without authority.
2.2 Red Flag: A pattern, practice, or specific activity that indicates the possible existence of
Identity Theft.
2.3 Covered Account: Includes all student accounts or loans that are administered by the
University.
2.4 Responsible Party: The individual designated with primary responsibility for oversight
of the program.
2.5 Identifying information: Any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction
with any other information, to identify a specific person, including: name, address,
telephone number, social security number, date of birth, government issued driver’s
license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport
number, employer or taxpayer identification number, student identification number,
computer’s Internet Protocol address, or routing code.
POLICY
3.1 Under the Red Flags Rule, the University is required to establish an “Identity Theft
Prevention Program” tailored to its size, complexity and the nature of its operation.
Each program must contain reasonable policies and procedures to:
3.1.1 Identify relevant Red Flags for new and existing covered accounts and
incorporate those Red Flags into the Program
3.1.2 Detect Red Flags that have been incorporated into the Program
3.1.3 Respond appropriately to any Red Flags that are detected to prevent and
mitigate Identity Theft
3.1.4 Ensure the Program is updated periodically to reflect changes in risks to
students or to the safety and soundness of the student from Identity Theft.
PROCEDURES
4.1 Identification of Red Flags
In order to identify relevant Red Flags, the university considers the types of accounts
that it offers and maintains, methods it provides to open its accounts, methods it
provides to access its accounts, and its previous experiences with Identity Theft. The
major operational areas that are most susceptible to Identity Theft of Students, Faculty
or Staff within UHD are Employment Services (ESO), Admissions and Records and
Financial Aid in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Student Financials
in Business Affairs. The university identifies the following Red Flags in each of the
listed categories:
A. Notifications and Warnings from Credit Reporting Agencies
Red Flags
(1) Report of fraud accompanying a credit report
(2) Notice or report from a credit agency of a credit freeze on an applicant
(3) Notice or report from a credit agency of an active duty alert for an applicant
(4) Receipt of a notice of address discrepancy in response to a credit report
request
(5) Indication from a credit report of activity that is inconsistent with an
applicant’s usual pattern or activity
B. Suspicious Documents
Red Flags
(1) Identification document or card that appears to be forged, altered or
inauthentic
(2) Identification document or card on which a person’s photograph or physical
description is not consistent with the person presenting the document
(3) Other document with information that is not consistent with existing student
information
(4) Application for service that appears to have been altered or forged
C. Suspicious Personal Identifying Information
Red Flags
(1) Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other information
the student provides (example: inconsistent birth dates)
(2) Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other sources of
information (for instance, an address not matching an address on a loan
application)
(3) Identifying information presented that is the same as information shown on
other applications that were found to be fraudulent
(4) Identifying information presented that is consistent with fraudulent activity
(such as an invalid phone number or fictitious billing address)
(5) Social security number presented that is the same as one given by another
student
(6) An address or phone number presented that is the same as that of another
person
(7) A person fails to provide complete personal identifying information on an
application when reminded to do so
(8) A person’s identifying information is not consistent with the information
that is on file for the student
D. Suspicious Covered Account Activity or Unusual Use of Account
Red Flags
(1) Change of address for an account followed by a request to change the
student’s name
(2) Payments stop on an otherwise consistently up-to-date account
(3) Account used in a way that is not consistent with prior use
(4) Mail sent to the student is repeatedly returned as undeliverable
(5) Notice to the university that a student is not receiving mail sent by the
university;
(6) Notice to the university that an account has unauthorized activity
(7) Breach in the university's computer system security
(8) Unauthorized access to or use of student account information
E. Alerts from Others
Red Flag
(1) Notice to the university from a student, Identity Theft victim, law enforcement
or other person that the University has opened or is maintaining a fraudulent
account for a person engaged in Identity Theft.
4.2 Detecting Red Flags
In order to detect any of the Red Flags identified above associated with the enrollment
of a student, creation of a covered account or when hiring a new employee, university
personnel will take the following steps to obtain and verify the identity of the person
opening the account:
A. Require certain identifying information such as name, date of birth, academic
records, home address or other identification
B. Verify the student’s identity at time of issuance of student identification card
(review of driver’s license or other government-issued photo identification)
C. Verify the identification of students if they request information (in person, via
telephone, via facsimile, via email)
D. Verify the validity of requests to change billing addresses by mail or email and
provide the student a reasonable means of promptly reporting incorrect billing
address changes; and initiate an email to each student’s UHD Gatormail account
that verifies any address changes made online to the Student’s Account
E. Verify changes in banking information given for billing and payment purposes
F. Require written verification from any applicant that the address provided by the
applicant is accurate at the time the request for the credit report is made to the
consumer reporting agency;
G. In the event that notice of an address discrepancy is received, verify that the credit
report pertains to the applicant for whom the requested report was made and
report to the consumer reporting agency an address for the applicant that the
university has reasonably confirmed is accurate.
4.3 Preventing and Mitigating Identity Theft and Protecting Personal Information
In the event university personnel detect any identified Red Flags, such personnel shall
take one or more of the following steps, depending on the degree of risk posed by the
Red Flag:
A. Prevent and Mitigate
In order to further prevent the likelihood of Identity Theft occurring with respect
to Covered Accounts or to mitigate the possible damage caused by identity theft,
university personnel can:
(1) Continue to monitor a Covered Account for evidence of Identity Theft
(2) Contact the student or applicant (for which a credit report was run)
(3) Change any passwords or other security devices that permit access to Covered
Accounts
(4) Not open a new Covered Account
(5) Provide the student with a new student identification number
(6) Notify the Responsible Party for determination of the appropriate step(s) to
take
(7) Notify law enforcement
(8) File or assist in filing a Suspicious Activities Report (“SAR”)
(9) Determine that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances
B. Protect Student Identifying Information
In order to further prevent the likelihood of Identity Theft occurring with respect
to Covered Accounts, the university will take the following steps with respect to
its internal operating procedures to protect student identifying information:
(1) Ensure that its website is secure or provide clear notice that the website is not
secure
(2) Ensure complete and secure destruction of paper documents and computer
files containing student account information when a decision has been made
to no longer maintain such information
(3) Ensure that office computers with access to Covered Account information are
password protected
(4) Avoid use of social security numbers
(5) Ensure computer virus protection is up to date
(6) Require and keep only the kinds of student information that are necessary for
university purposes
4.4 Program Administration
A. Oversight
Responsibility for developing, implementing and updating this Program lies with
the UHD Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs (Responsible Party) who
will make reports as directed to the University Compliance Committee. The
Responsible Party will ensure appropriate training of university staff on the
Program. The Responsible Party will review any staff reports regarding the
detection of Red Flags and the steps for preventing and mitigating Identity Theft
as well as determining which steps of prevention and mitigation should be taken
in particular circumstances as well as considering periodic changes to the
Program.
B. Staff Training and Reports
University staff responsible for implementing the Program shall be trained either
by or under the direction of the Responsible Party in the detection of Red Flags
and the responsive steps to be taken when a Red Flag is detected. University staff
shall be trained, as necessary, to effectively implement the Program. University
employees are expected to notify the Responsible Party once they become aware
of an incident of Identity Theft or of the University’s failure to comply with this
Program. Training of the university staff on this program will be included as part
of the Annual Mandatory Training Class “Secure Our Systems” which must be
completed by all faculty and staff. When requested by the Compliance Officer,
the Responsible Party for development, implementation, and administration of the
Program shall report to the Compliance Committee on compliance with this
Program. The report should address such issues as effectiveness of the policies and procedures in addressing the risk of identity theft in connection with the
opening and maintenance of Covered Accounts, service provider arrangements,
significant incidents involving identity theft and management’s response, and
recommendations for changes to the Program.
C. Service Provider Arrangements
In the event the university engages a service provider to perform an activity in
connection with one or more Covered Accounts, the university will take the
following steps to ensure the service provider performs its activity in accordance
with reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent and mitigate
the risk of Identity Theft.
1. Require, by contract, that service providers have such policies and procedures
in place
2. Require, by contract, that service providers review the university's Program and
report any Red Flags to the Program Administrator or the university employee
with primary oversight of the service provider relationship
D. Non-disclosure of Specific Practices
For the effectiveness of this Identity Theft Prevention Program, knowledge about
specific Red Flag identification, detection, mitigation and prevention practices
may need to be limited to the Committee who developed this program and to
those employees with a need to know them. Any documents that may have been
produced or are produced in order to develop or implement this program that list
or describe such specific practices and the information those documents contain
are considered “confidential” and should not be shared with other university
employees or the public. The Program Administrator shall inform the committee
and those employees with a need to know the information of those documents or
specific practices, which should be maintained in a confidential manner.
E. Program Updates
The Responsible Party will periodically review and update this program to reflect
changes in risks to students and the soundness of the university from Identity
Theft. In doing so, the Responsible Party will consider the university’s
experiences with Identity Theft situations, changes in Identity Theft methods,
changes in Identity Theft detection and prevention methods, and changes in the
university’s business arrangements with other entities. After considering these
factors, the Responsible Party will determine whether changes to the Program,
including the listing of Red Flags, are warranted. If warranted, the program will
be updated.
REVIEW PROCESS
Responsible Party (Reviewer): Vice President for Administration & Finance
Review: Every three years on or before August 1st
.
Signed original on file in Employment Services and Operations.
POLICY HISTORY
Issue #1: 08/12/10
REFERENCES
UH System Administrative Memorandum 01.C.14
Red Flags Rule
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
