New Papers: Identity Theft Definitions, Federal Consumer Protection Regulation

The Payments Card Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has just posted two new discussion papers.

The first, “Identity Theft: Do Definitions Still Matter?,” is an original research discussion paper by Industry Specialist Julia S. Cheney. This paper examines four types of financial fraud – fictitious identity fraud, payment card fraud, account takeover fraud, and true name fraud – that fall under the legal term identity theft. It also identifies three areas key to the development of solutions that would benefit from further definitional delineation.

The second, “Federal Consumer Protection Regulation: Disclosures and Beyond (PDF),” summarizes a symposium hosted by the Center this past June at which industry leaders, legal scholars, economists, consumer advocates and policymakers discussed standardized credit card disclosures and other means of protecting credit card consumers. Written by Industry Specialist Mark Furletti, the paper details the key policy recommendations of symposium participants.