There is some confusion in my bank regarding the filing of a SAR due to ID theft. The compliance person says that ALL id theft no matter the amount has to have a SAR filed according to the Patriot Act changes. I understood it to be according to the same $5000 suspect/$25000 no suspect guidelines. Further, he has translated this to mean all forged makers are id theft since the forger is making himself or herself appear to be the true maker..This sounds over zealous to me..Can someone help with these 2 questions please?

Chris,
All they did was add identity theft to the list of reportable activities; the regulations which dictate the dollar thresholds were not changed.

If it is identity theft you are reporting, it would seem to me that all you usually have is a victim, not a suspect. If that is true, in most cases your threshold will be $25,000. The only relevant guidance I know of on this topic was issued well before they revised the form, in SAR Activity Review # 3, Section 6.

Everything that I've heard has indicated that we must file a SAR on identity theft, regardless of the amount. I am confused also - as I am sure other individuals are. Can anyone clarify and give a definitive answer on this one?

I am filing on every identity theft we are aware of. In most cases we shut down the account before it was funded so the transaction amounts are zero. Also, the facts reported may help find these fraud rings.

Threereds, the official word on this is the regulation itself, which as Ken pointed out hasn't changed, and any associated guidance from FinCEN. Actually FinCEN could recommend that all ID theft's be reported (although to my knowledge they have not so far), but I don't think they (or your regulator) could require it without a change to the regulation.

And how do we calculate the threshold? Actual loss or potential loss? (We just had one almost tap into an $800m CD!)

I think common sense should prevail here. As Ken pointed out, usually you have the name of a victim, but not a suspect. Therefore, the $25,000 threshhold would appear to apply, but imagine the impact if every ID theft under $25,000 went unreported. Banks are protected if they report any suspicious activity, regardless of the amount. In my opinion, all ID theft should be reported because people who commit ID theft probably also know about the $25,000 threshhold. One of the purposes of the new SAR system database was to help law enforcement identify individuals who use that "loophole" to victimize different banks in different areas regulated by different agencies. Let's help them out and report all ID theft. You cannot possibly imagine the impact ID theft has on your life unless you experience it. We should do whatever we can do to try to stop it, or at least slow it down.

Actual loss is not a factor in filing a SAR. The amount of the transaction or attempted transaction is the determining factor.