Wallingford, CT – November 4, 2010 – The Council of Better Business Bureaus has become an official supporter of the newly-launched Identity Theft Council (ITC).
It is one of the nation’s largest identity theft victim support and education initiatives. The ITC is a non-profit organization that aims to find more effective ways to combat identity theft at a local level and provide better long-term support for victims.
The ITC is an unprecedented coalition of national and community-based organizations that are taking on the challenge of fighting ID theft and helping victims recover from its devastating impact.
The Council is creating a nationwide network of local partnerships between law enforcement, the financial industry and community volunteers. It provides hands-on support for identity theft victims and helps law enforcement provide a more coordinated response to the crime. The partnership is also working to improve education and awareness of ID theft.
The ITC’s first line of defense is its network of locally-trained volunteer counselors; they lead victims of identity theft through the response and recovery process. The ITC is also providing police departments with free, specialized training they need to assist victims. For more complex identity theft cases, the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) will provide additional outside support and recovery services.
The Council was founded by security expert Neal O’Farrell with the support of local law enforcement in the San Francisco Bay area, and Intersections Inc. and is supported nationally by Intersections Inc, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), the Online Trust Alliance (OTA), Elder Financial Protection Network (EFPN), and ITAC, the Identity Theft Assistance Center. For more information or to become involved in the Identity Theft Council, please visit
http://www.identitytheftcouncil.org/.
Founded in 1928, Connecticut BBB is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. BBB offers objective advice and a wide range of education on topics affecting marketplace trust. BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution support for consumers and businesses. Today, 128 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than three million local and national businesses and charities. For more advice on finding companies and businesses, start your search with trust at www.bbb.org.Howard Schwartz, Communications Director, 203-269-2700, hschwartz@ct.bbb.org
