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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tijeras Fighting Identity Theft

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
          The village of Tijeras is boning up on identity theft and may even take steps to prevent it.
        Village Clerk Daniel Abram invited John Alvarado, a representative of Pre-Paid Legal Services, to Monday's council meeting to discuss how that can be done. One of the services his company can do for the village, he said, is put together a written policy for employees who handle personal information, such as the data handled in the village's department of motor vehicles when dealing with drivers' licenses.
        "People shoulder-surf," Alvarado said. "We provide a way to protect the village in case someone says you mishandled their information."
        He explained that a "clean-desk policy," which means employees would not have more than one file open on their desks at one time and would keep computer screens facing away from customers, would reduce the village's liability. In fact, the village may be required to adopt such a policy by November.
        The Federal Trade Commission and banking regulatory agencies passed a set of rules requiring the implementation of an identity theft prevention program by arelatively inclusive set of institutions that deal with customers' identity information. Compliance with the act is required by Nov. 1.
        Part of the plan Alvarado was selling to the council costs from $9.95 per month per family for identity theft protection to $15.95 for a plan that includes reduced-cost legal aid for family members.
        Alvarado handed out information to the councilors and the mayor and the council set the issue aside for the council to look over the materials. Chavez said it will appear on the agenda again in September.
        The council is also looking into annexing a 23-acre area just north of the Mountainside Methodist Church in Cedar Crest, about a quarter-mile north of the village limits.
        At a previous meeting, the planning and zoning commission reviewed the request, which included a conceptual plan for a plaza with medical facilities such as a pharmacy, restaurants and retail shops, and gave the request a favorable review, according to Abram.
        Councilor Don Johnson asked if the "shoestring" annexation would be legal and Abram said it would, but the village had to notify surrounding property owners to see if they wanted to sign a petition to be annexed into the village as well.
        The council approved the request, but Johnson warned that it doesn't mean the plaza will sprout up over night.
        "The pharmacy is just a dream right now," Johnson said.