WASHINGTON–Credit unions and other financial institutions have until Nov. 1 to develop and implement identity theft prevention programs, the Federal Trade Commission reminded them this week.

Such programs, which were mandated by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, must provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, or specific activities that could indicate identity theft. These patterns and activities are known as "red flags."

These fall into five categories: alerts, notifications or warnings from a consumer reporting agency; suspicious documents; suspicious personally identifying information, such as a suspicious address; unusual use of or suspicious activity relating to an account; and notices from customers, identity theft victims, law enforcement authorities or other businesses about possible identity theft in connection with covered accounts.