HB 0323 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to fraud prevention; creating the Fraud
3	Prevention Unit within the Office of the Attorney General
4	to improve and coordinate the state's response to fraud
5	and related crimes; requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to
6	establish a Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral
7	Center to collect, refer, and analyze information
8	concerning fraud; specifying goals of the center;
9	specifying responsibilities of the Fraud Prevention Unit;
10	providing requirements for projects supported by the Fraud
11	Prevention Unit; requiring the unit to develop public
12	information programs and establish recommended training
13	curricula; authorizing the Attorney General to use
14	volunteers; providing that volunteers are exempt from
15	liability under the Florida Volunteer Protection Act;
16	requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to coordinate its
17	investigations with other law enforcement agencies and
18	victim assistance programs; requiring the unit to use
19	services of the Federal Trade Commission; requiring that
20	the unit avoid duplicating services but communicate the
21	availability of those services; requiring that the Fraud
22	Prevention Unit be developed and operated using existing
23	resources; providing for the use of donated funds and
24	resources; authorizing state agencies and local businesses
25	to assign employees to assist the unit; authorizing the
26	unit to assist victims in correcting credit reports or
27	other identifying information; prohibiting the unit from
28	providing legal representation to victims of fraud;
29	providing an effective date.
30
31	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33	Section 1.Fraud prevention.--
34	(1) There is created within the Office of the Attorney
35	General the Fraud Prevention Unit. The mission of the unit is to
36	improve this state's response to fraud and crimes related to
37	fraud using cooperative efforts between state agencies,
38	businesses in the private sector, and private citizen
39	volunteers.
40	(2)(a) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall establish within
41	the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, another
42	state agency, or a designated private entity, as appropriate, a
43	Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center to which victims
44	of fraud may immediately turn in order to obtain information and
45	general assistance in dealing with a crime. The center shall
46	serve as an easily accessed, single point of contact for
47	consumers who are, or suspect that they may be, victims of fraud
48	and shall bridge the gap between the public, state agencies,
49	consumer organizations, and private businesses. The center shall
50	establish an effective program for collecting, referring, and
51	analyzing information and data concerning fraud. The center
52	shall focus on the goals of:
53	1. Prevention, which includes the education of consumers,
54	businesses, and law enforcement agencies.
55	2. Reporting, which includes information regarding victims
56	of fraud and persons suspected of committing fraud.
57	3. Restoration, which includes, if necessary, returning
58	the victim's credit and name to their original status.
59	(b) The center shall properly collect, track, analyze, and
60	disseminate data concerning complaints in order to better
61	address short-term enforcement concerns and long-term strategy
62	requirements. The center shall:
63	1. Provide a statewide methodology to manage complaint
64	information from consumers, regulatory and enforcement agencies,
65	affected businesses in the private sector, and consumer support
66	organizations.
67	2. Identify related complaints.
68	3. Collect, analyze, and produce accurate data concerning
69	the scope of fraud.
70	4. Develop and implement timely prevention and education
71	programs to reduce victimization by fraud, as well as to provide
72	important response strategies to those who have discovered that
73	they are victims of fraud.
74	5. Share complaint information and fraud data among
75	persons involved in investigations in the public and private
76	sector in a timely manner.
77	(3) In meeting its mission, the responsibilities of the
78	Fraud Prevention Unit shall include, but are not limited to:
79	(a) Creating an effective public and private partnership
80	to cooperatively address criminal fraud within the state as it
81	affects individual citizens and businesses. The public and
82	private partnership shall include professionals in the fields of
83	communications, financial services, insurance, information
84	management, law, marketing, technology, retail sales,
85	government, and law enforcement.
86	(b) Providing timely and effective information to the
87	public and to businesses in this state regarding the types of
88	fraud that may be perpetrated upon them and the efforts that may
89	be taken to lessen the possibility of becoming a victim of such
90	fraud.
91	(c) Providing information to the public and businesses and
92	encouraging the use of new and innovative refinements for fraud
93	prevention in this state, including the use of Internet
94	resources to facilitate access to government and private sector
95	programs designed to assist fraud victims.
96	(d) Furthering the goal of a statewide fraud prevention
97	network by supporting the initiation or expansion of statewide
98	and local efforts with regard to crime prevention, awareness,
99	and education.
100	(e) Supporting the development of a coordinated service
101	network, including the exchange of information and referral of
102	cases between programs such as local victim and witness
103	assistance programs, state and local programs providing services
104	to the elderly, or any other established and recognizable local
105	program devoted to decreasing the crime of fraud and reducing
106	its impact upon victims.
107	(f) Promoting a greater awareness of fraud and encouraging
108	a cooperative response to fraud by state and local law
109	enforcement officers and prosecutors, private security officers,
110	and business representatives.
111	(g) Strengthening and expanding options for communication
112	to victims of fraud in order to assist them in determining the
113	extent of the fraud perpetrated against them, assist them during
114	the investigation and prosecution of the criminal fraud, and
115	assist them in recouping losses from fraud and managing the
116	consequences of such fraud.
117	(h) Providing general support and assistance for fraud
118	victims while they are involved with the criminal justice system
119	during the investigation of fraud as a crime and the prosecution
120	of those who perpetrated the fraud.
121	(i) Providing information or sources of information of
122	value to victims as they cope with the ramifications of criminal
123	fraud, including, but not limited to, reestablishing credit
124	ratings and credit damaged or destroyed by reason of identity
125	theft or other fraud and theft.
126	(j) Assisting in the identification and effective delivery
127	of training and awareness programs related to fraud detection,
128	investigation, prevention, and consequence management.
129	(4) With respect to the initiation or expansion of local
130	crime prevention efforts, projects supported by the Fraud
131	Prevention Unit shall, consistent with available resources:
132	(a) Use suitable and effective outreach and educational
133	techniques in order to raise the awareness of the public with
134	regard to potential fraud, efforts that can be made to avoid
135	becoming a victim of fraud, and ways to respond when fraudulent
136	activity is believed to have occurred.
137	(b) Develop and deliver crime prevention information to
138	the elderly regarding fraud, theft, grand theft, and burglary.
139	(c) Develop programs to provide literature on training,
140	information, and prevention to law enforcement officers,
141	caregivers for the elderly, health care practitioners, and
142	social service providers regarding fraud perpetrated upon the
143	elderly as well as other segments of the state's population.
144	(d) In cooperation with the Criminal Justice Standards and
145	Training Commission, establish recommended curricula for
146	training law enforcement officers in detecting, investigating,
147	and preventing fraud and provide recommendations for the role of
148	law enforcement officers in assisting victims of fraud to
149	recover stolen property, address identity theft, reestablish
150	credit ratings damaged or destroyed by reason of fraud, and
151	otherwise respond to the impact of fraud.
152	(e) Review educational and intervention programs designed
153	to prevent fraud in order to determine a program's potential
154	application and value in addressing various types of fraud
155	perpetrated upon the public and maximize the availability of
156	effective programs to law enforcement agencies and persons
157	dealing with fraud and its impact.
158	(f) Establish programs devoted to fraud prevention through
159	establishing partnership initiatives using volunteers and the
160	support of private businesses.
161	(5) Any initiative or program funded under this section
162	must demonstrate ongoing effectiveness in assisting the Office
163	of the Attorney General in implementing the mission defined in
164	this section.
165	(6) The Attorney General may employ personnel as necessary
166	and to the extent funding is available in order to ensure that
167	the Fraud Prevention Unit meets the mission defined by this
168	section. The Attorney General may use volunteers to assist the
169	unit and these volunteers are covered by the provisions of s.
170	768.1355, Florida Statutes.
171	(7) In meeting its mission, the Fraud Prevention Unit
172	shall design its efforts to focus primarily on organized,
173	multijurisdictional fraud; violations of s. 775.0844, Florida
174	Statutes, the White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act; or other
175	types of fraud that involve large numbers of real or potential
176	victims. The Fraud Prevention Unit shall, to the greatest extent
177	possible, coordinate its efforts related to investigations with
178	the Department of Law Enforcement and coordinate its efforts
179	related to prosecutions of multijurisdictional fraud with the
180	Office of Statewide Prosecution. However, this section does not
181	prohibit the referral of any cases developed by, through, or
182	with the assistance of the unit to any appropriate investigative
183	or prosecutorial entity. The unit shall, to the greatest extent
184	possible, coordinate its efforts related to assisting fraud
185	victims with the victim assistance programs and units presently
186	established within or coordinated by the Office of the Attorney
187	General, other state agencies, the various victim advocates
188	within the state attorneys' offices, and victim support entities
189	within the Federal Government and the private sector.
190	(8) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall use and promote the
191	services of the Federal Trade Commission, including, but not
192	limited to, the commission's toll-free telephone services and
193	capabilities for Internet access, when such services are
194	relevant to addressing the perpetration of fraud against the
195	public and businesses in this state. The unit shall avoid
196	duplicating services that are provided by other entities, but
197	shall ensure that the availability of such services is clearly
198	communicated to those seeking the unit's assistance.
199	(9) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall be developed and
200	operated using existing resources within the Office of the
201	Attorney General and funds and resources donated to the Office
202	of the Attorney General by businesses and others that are
203	specifically designated for use by the unit. Funds received by
204	the unit may not be used to fund positions for investigators or
205	law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies or
206	positions for prosecutors within the Office of Statewide
207	Prosecution or the state attorneys' offices. Any state or local
208	agency may temporarily assign an employee to the unit to assist
209	in its staffing or operations. A private business may
210	temporarily assign its employees to work with the unit; however,
211	any employee so assigned remains at all times an employee of the
212	private business. The Attorney General may use volunteers to
213	assist in the operations of the unit.
214	(10) Upon a request by a victim of fraud or a similar
215	crime that is within the scope of the mission of the Fraud
216	Prevention Unit, the unit may assist the victim in obtaining
217	information necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in the
218	victim's credit report or other identifying information.
219	However, the unit may not provide legal representation to a
220	victim of fraud.
221	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
222