[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 60 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14810-14812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5818]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The
Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is seeking public
comments on its proposal to extend through June 30, 2010 the current
OMB clearance for information collection requirements
[[Page 14811]]
contained in its Identity Theft Report Definition Rule (``Rule''). That
clearance expires on June 30, 2007.
DATES: Comments must be filed by May 29, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``IDT Report Rule: FTC Matter No. R411002,''
to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper
form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope
and should be mailed or delivered, with two complete copies, to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. Because paper mail in the
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed
below. However, if the comment contains any material for which
confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper form,
and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled
``Confidential.'' \1\
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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must also
be accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by following
the instructions on the Web-based form at https://secure.commentworks.com/IDTReportRule. To ensure that the Commission
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the Web-based form
at the https://secure.commentworks.com/IDTReportRule weblink. If this
notice appears at www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic
comment through that Web site. The Commission will consider all
comments that regulations.gov forwards to it.
The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the
FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of
discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's
privacy policy at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be addressed to Kristin Krause Cohen, Attorney, Division of
Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580,
(202) 326-2252.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``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'' means agency requests or requirements that members of the
public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for
public comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork
clearance for the regulations noted herein.
The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the required collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the required
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section
above, and must be received on or before May 29, 2007.
The Identity Theft Report Definition Rule, 16 CFR Part 603, was
promulgated pursuant to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
of 2003 (``FACT Act'' or the ``Act''), amending the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, which established requirements for consumer reporting
agencies, creditors, and others to help remedy problems associated with
identity theft. Under the Act, an individual can mitigate a number of
specific harms resulting from identity theft by providing an identity
theft report to consumer reporting agencies and information furnishers.
For example, with an identity theft report, an identity theft victim
can obtain a seven year fraud alert or seek to block fraudulent
information on their credit report. Pursuant to the FACT Act, the Rule
defined the term ``identity theft report,'' 16 CFR 603.5, and became
effective on December 1, 2004.
Burden statement: Commission staff estimates of paperwork burden
for the Act and Rule are based on its knowledge of identity theft
trends and an identity theft study report, Federal Trade Commission--
Identity Theft Survey Report (Survey Report), prepared for the
Commission by Synovate, and issued in September 2003.\2\ Staff
estimates that the average annual paperwork burden for the three-year
clearance period sought is 586,000 hours with associated annual labor
cost burden of $10.911 million.
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\2\ See Synovate survey at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf.
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To derive the estimated total annual hours burden and the estimated
labor cost burden, staff first determined the increase in the number of
individuals who obtain identity theft reports as a result of the
Identity Theft Report Definition Rule. In its 2004 notice of proposed
rulemaking \3\ and corresponding submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated
that the then-proposed rule would increase by 1.529 million the number
of individuals obtaining identity theft reports annually. No provisions
in the Rule have been amended since staff's prior submission to OMB.
Accordingly, absent additional public information to the contrary,
staff will continue to apply that estimate, which is explained below.
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\3\ 69 FR 23370 (Apr. 28, 2004), at 23375.
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The Survey Report indicates that there are 9.91 million individuals
victimized by identity theft each year.\4\ Twenty-six percent of those
individuals, or 2.577 million, contact a local law enforcement
agency.\5\ Seventy-six percent of the 2.577 million, or 1.958 million,
file a police report alleging identity theft.\6\ Staff anticipates
that, as both individuals and police departments become increasingly
aware of the benefits of obtaining an ``identity theft report'' under
the Act, the number of individuals who ultimately obtain an identity
theft report will likely increase because the Rule facilitates a
victim's ability to file a law enforcement report.
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\4\ Survey Report at 7.
\5\ Id. at 59. All calculations in this section have been
rounded to the nearest thousand.
\6\ Id.
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The Survey Report indicated that 618,000 victims who contact local
law enforcement annually are unable to file
[[Page 14812]]
a police report.\7\ Thus, staff estimates that the Rule will enable
those victims who previously were unable to file reports with local law
enforcement to now file reports with a state or federal law enforcement
agency. Second, 4.261 million victims annually contact an information
furnisher.\8\ Staff estimates, based on its knowledge of identity theft
trends, that the Rule will result in an increase of 10%, or 426,000, of
these victims obtaining an identity theft report. Third, 646,000
victims do not take any action even though their information was used
to open new accounts or to commit other frauds.\9\ Staff estimates,
based on its knowledge of identity theft trends, that the Rule will
likely result in 75%, or 485,000, of these victims obtaining identity
theft reports. In sum, staff estimates that the Rule will increase by
1.529 million the number of individuals obtaining identity theft
reports (618,000 + 426,000 + 485,000).
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\7\ Id. (24% of the 2.577 million victims who contacted law
enforcement did not obtain a copy of a police report).
\8\ Id. at 50 (43% of all 9.91 million victims contact an
information provider).
\9\ Based upon staff's analysis of data collected in the survey,
these types of victims constitute 20% of the 3.23 million victims
each year whose information is used to open new accounts or commit
other frauds.
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Estimated total annual hours burden: 586,000 hours (rounded to the
nearest thousand).
In its 2004 notice of proposed rulemaking and corresponding
submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated, based on the experience of the
Commission's Consumer Response Center, that an individual would spend
an average of 5 minutes finding and reviewing filing instructions, 8
minutes filing the law enforcement report with the law enforcement
agency, and 5 minutes submitting the law enforcement report and any
additional information or documentation to the information furnisher or
consumer reporting agency, resulting in an average of 18 minutes for
each identity theft report.
Staff now estimates, based on the ongoing experience of the
Commission's Consumer Response Center, that an individual will spend 5
minutes finding and reviewing filing instructions, 13 minutes filing
the law enforcement report with the law enforcement agency (due to
added entry fields), and 5 minutes submitting the law enforcement
report and any additional information or documentation to the
information furnisher or consumer reporting agency, resulting in an
average of 23 minutes for each identity theft report. Thus, the annual
information collection burden for the estimated 1.529 million new
identity theft reports due to the Rule will be 586,000 hours. [(1.529
million x 23 minutes)/60 minutes]
Estimated labor costs: $10,911,000 (rounded to the nearest
thousand).
Commission staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate hourly
cost figures to the burden hours described above. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics survey from June 2005, the average national
wage for individuals was $18.62.\10\ Applying this average national
wage to the 586,000 burden hours results in an estimated $10.911
million labor cost burden on individuals who obtain identity theft
reports ($18.62 x 586,000 hours).
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\10\ The hourly rates are based on average annual Bureau of
Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey data, June 2005 (with
2005 as the most recent whole year information available, and June
the focal median point). http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0832.pdf
(see Table 1.1).
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Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal.
Staff believes that the Rule's paperwork burden imposes negligible
capital or other non-labor costs, as an identity theft victim is likely
to have the necessary supplies and/or equipment already (telephone,
computer, paper, envelopes) for purposes of obtaining the identity
theft report and submitting it to information furnishers or consumer
reporting agencies.
William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E7-5818 Filed 3-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P