Skip to content
Main Menu
Utah Attorney General
Search
Attorney General
Sean D. Reyes
Utah Office of the Attorney General
Secondary Navigation

Utah AG Joins Coalition Supporting FTC Identity Rules

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2019

 

UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL SEAN D. REYES JOINS 31 ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN SIGNING MULTI-STATE LETTER SUPPORTING FTC IDENTITY RULES 

SALT LAKE CITY – On Friday, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined a coalition of 31 attorneys general and sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging the FTC to continue its Identity Theft Rules, which were originally adopted in November 2007. The letter cites the proliferation of identity theft in many states, and the growth in technology since the rules were adopted.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States of America and one of the most disruptive and damaging to victims’ lives,” said Attorney General Reyes. “The Utah Attorney General’s Office-led SECURE Strike Force focuses tremendous resources on protecting the identities of Utah. We ask the FTC to do the same.”

The current rules require certain financial institutions and businesses that grant credit or issue debit or credit cards to take steps to detect, prevent and mitigate identify theft by implementing reasonable safeguards. The letter also suggests adding a requirement that a cardholder must be notified by email or cell phone if an email address or cell phone number is changed. This is in addition to the existing requirement to mail notification upon change of account address. The attorneys general also ask that suspicious account activity include account access by new and previously unknown devices and repeated unsuccessful access attempts.

David Sonnenreich from the Tax & Financial Services Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office said, “Identity theft is a serious and rapidly growing problem that harms our citizens both financially and emotionally, and that increases costs for our businesses. Since 2007 the FTC’s ‘Red Flag’ and ‘Card Issuer’ rules have provided critical early warnings of identity theft to businesses and consumers and have helped to stop countless fraudsters in their tracks when they try to use stolen personal information. However, as cyberthieves become more sophisticated, we need to adopt better responses.”

Attorney General Reyes joined the Attorneys General of Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in signing this letter.

###

NOTES:


A copy of the letter can be found here: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AG_Comment_Letter_to_FTC.pdf

AG Office in Action

November 9, 2018

Protect the people of Utah. 

This is a big deal for the Utah Attorney General’s Office and one of its core functions. Domestic abuse, human and drug trafficking, sexual assault, crimes against children – the list of crimes that destroy our families and neighborhoods goes on and on. No matter what it is, our team of investigators and prosecutors work hard to remove from our communities those who would seek to take advantage or do us harm. 

Here’s a highlight of the last several weeks looking at the Office in action. 

Attorneygeneral.gov: Utah registered nurse convicted of sexual assault

KSL: Alleged big play in Utah drug trafficking charged

Standard Examiner: Nurse’s aide charged with abusing vulnerable adults appears in court

Gephardt Daily: Task force arrest Layton man for crimes against children

Daily Herald: Investigators say Lehi man created, sold fake green cards

Gephardt Daily: Smugglers arrested in Utah with 2.33 pounds of contraband after multi-agency operation

The Herald Journal: Logan man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah nurse charged with beating a 2-year-old foster child to death

Deseret News: Salt Lake police officer arrested in child pornography investigation

Fox13Now: Salt Lake City officer arrested in child porn investigation

KSL.com: Charges filed against police office in child pornography case

Standard-Examiner: Salt Lake City police officer, Syracuse man in jail for allegedly possessing child porn

Thanks for paying attention!

Three-month investigation uncovers identity theft and drug crimes

Update: 
NPR KPCW reported on how these men were able to steal these identities were stolen and how to keep this from happening to you. 
You can read or listen to their coverage here: AG’s Office Explains How Men Were Able To Steal Identities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2018


UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES SEVERAL FELONY ARRESTS
Suspects charged with identity theft, drug dealing, and more

SALT LAKE CITY – Today, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes announced the arrest of four suspects, charged with a total of seventeen felonies and one class A misdemeanor, by the AG’s SECURE Strikeforce concluding a three-month long investigation in partnership with several state agencies.

On Wednesday, two search warrants were simultaneously served in Summit County and Wasatch County by investigators from multiple jurisdictions. “Those arrested were involved with identity theft, possessing fraudulent government documents, and had a pattern of unlawful behavior with dealing several types of controlled substances,” said Police Chief Leo Lucey with the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

During the operation, officials seized a total of seventeen fraudulent government documents along with methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. 

The Utah Attorney General’s Office partnered with several agencies in the operation including Park City PD, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Heber City PD, Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, Back-Net Task Force, Ogden PD, Orem PD, Bountiful PD, DPS, Davis County Sheriff’s Office, HSI, and ICE/ERO. 

The mandate of the SECURE Strikeforce is to investigate major felony crimes involving identity theft, fraudulent documents, and human trafficking.

# # #

 

NOTES:

  1. For booking documents, please visit: RodrigoFranciscoJuan PabloPedro.
  2. For more information on SECURE, please visit the following: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/secure-task-force/.