Equifax Personal Solutions Joins H&R Block to Address Growing Threat of Tax Identity Theft

ATLANTA, Jan. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2013, 1.63 million taxpayers were victims of tax identity theft according to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. In response to this increasing problem, Equifax Personal Solutions, a leading provider of credit monitoring and identity protection solutions for consumers, and H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) the world's largest consumer tax services provider, have teamed up to provide consumers with a new solution, Tax Identity Shield^SM to help better protect them and their families.

"With the number of tax identity theft victims doubling in the last few years, individuals need to be highly vigilant going into tax season," says Trey Loughran, President of Equifax Personal Solutions. "The good news is Tax Identity Shield provides an added layer of monitoring and security to help safeguard your tax information."

Leveraging Equifax's data and analytics expertise, Tax Identity Shield provides H&R Block clients with the following features:

• IRS Identity Protection PIN: Helps prevent unauthorized tax return filing.
• Pre-tax Season Tax Identity Theft Scan and Alert: Assesses whether personal information may be at risk for tax identity theft and steps consumer should take to help reduce chances of becoming a victim.
• Tax E-file Notification: Receive early detection if there's an attempt to submit a fraudulent tax return through the H&R Block e-file system.
• Tax Identity Restoration Assistance: In the event of tax identity theft, specialists are on hand to help assist consumers in navigating the waters to work with the IRS.

"We are excited to partner with Equifax to deliver Tax Identity Shield including key capabilities such as the pre-tax season identity theft risk assessment," said Mark Ciaramitaro, vice president of New Business & Innovation for H&R Block.  "We are very excited about this product and, more importantly, about being able to help our tax clients insure uninterrupted access to their tax refund, protect their IRS standing, and save them valuable time while reducing the stress and hassle of having to address innumerable tax identity theft reporting and recovery requirements."

About Equifax

Equifax Personal Solutions empowers consumers with the confidence and control to be their financial best. Find out more about Equifax's innovative suite of credit monitoring and identity protection products at www.equifax.com. Get smart information on everything from credit to retirement, all in one place at the Equifax Finance Blog, blog.equifax.com.

Equifax is a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions that provide businesses of all sizes and consumers with insight and information they can trust. Equifax organizes and assimilates data on more than 600 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide.  The company's significant investments in differentiated data, its expertise in advanced analytics to explore and develop new multi-source data solutions, and its leading-edge proprietary technology enable it to create and deliver unparalleled customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 19 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index.  Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. In 2013, Equifax was named a Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top 50 company, was #3 in Fortune's Most Admired list in its category, and was named to InfoWeek 500 as well as the FinTech 100. For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world's largest consumer tax services provider.  More than 650 million tax returns have been prepared worldwide by and through H&R Block since 1955.  In fiscal 2014, H&R Block had annual revenues over $3.0 billion with 24.2 million tax returns prepared worldwide. Tax return preparation services are provided in approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices worldwide by professional tax preparers, and through H&R Block Tax Software products. H&R Block Bank provides affordable banking products and services. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom at http://newsroom.hrblock.com/.

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SOURCE Equifax Inc.