Equifax Credit Watch(TM) Provides Early Warning Of Identity Theft to Consumers
Service Provides 24/7 Monitoring Service and Real-Time, Secure Access
To Credit Profile; Alerts Consumers of Inquiries and Significant Changes
To Their Credit Profile
Apr 10, 2001, 01:00 ET from Equifax Inc.
ATLANTA, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Credit Watch(TM), developed by
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), a worldwide leader in enabling and securing global
commerce, provides online information enabling subscribers to quickly detect
possible identity theft and minimize its potentially devastating consequences.
Providing consumers of notice about activity on their credit file with
unmatched speed, the product also empowers consumers to manage their personal
credit more effectively. A rash of recent identity theft cases point to the
importance of consumer vigilance; Equifax Credit Watch(TM) makes it easier for
consumers with a front line of defense.
Equifax Credit Watch's 24-hour credit profile monitoring service provides
consumers with a quick, unique level of identity theft detection. A change in
a person's credit file, which the person did not initiate, can be an early
warning of identity theft. Available online at www.equifax.com , an annual
subscription to Credit Watch(TM) costs $39.95.
Powered by Equifax's consumer information technology, Equifax Credit
Watch(TM), within 24 hours of posting, alerts consumers via e-mail to
significant new entries on their Equifax credit file, such as new account
inquiries or updates reflecting late payments. In addition, Equifax Credit
Watch(TM) provides six personal credit profiles; access to a consumer hotline
in the event changes in their Equifax Credit Profile(TM) reveal potentially
fraudulent activities; and the ability to initiate a review of their credit
file via e-mail.
"Identity theft can wreak havoc on a consumer's personal finances," said
Mike Cummins, Vice President and General Manager of Equifax's Consumer Direct
Unit. "That's why it's increasingly important for consumers to manage and
track their credit efficiently, utilizing secure technologies and products
that will enhance the security of their transactions and consumer identity.
Our Credit Watch(TM) product is part of our ongoing strategy to enlighten,
enable and empower consumers to manage their own financial well being while
taking precautions against the risk of fraudulent transactions."
Experts say some victims of identity theft can suffer years of financial
and emotional distress. A recent study by the California Public Interest
Research Group (CALPIRG) and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse showed the
average victim of identity theft did not learn about it until 14 months after
the theft occurred. It then took the victim many months to fully resolve the
problems caused directly by the identity theft.
"The important thing about Equifax Credit Watch(TM)," said Dr. Alan F.
Westin, President of the Center for Social and Legal Research, "Is that it
empowers everyone, whether a stock broker or a store clerk, with the tool they
need to be informed, to protect themselves and to fight against the invasion
and financial impact of identity theft."
A federal crime since 1998, experts say identity theft has reached
epidemic proportions in recent years. According to a recent Kiplinger's
(March 2001) article, identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime
in America with about one in five American families affected over the past
several years. Evidence of identity theft continues to mount with news
reports such as a recent article citing a Forrester Research report stating
that the Federal Trade Commission, charged with helping consumers whose
identities have been misappropriated, received 100 to 200 calls a week when it
opened its toll-free help lines in November 1999.
With over a century of experience dealing with sensitive consumer
information, Equifax understands the importance of providing a secure consumer
environment. All Equifax consumer products, including Equifax Credit
Watch(TM), Equifax Credit Profile? and Score Power(TM), are backed by
Equifax's patent-pending authentication technology solution, which serves as
an additional barrier to identity theft. Validating user identity through a
string of interactive queries unique to the individual, authentication
provides a high-tech solution developed to protect consumers against two of
the biggest public policy issues of our day -- privacy invasion and identity
theft. And because Equifax has harnessed secure technology in products that
actively help consumers identify, reduce and resolve credit related problems,
consumers now have viable solutions to their information privacy concerns.
About Equifax
Equifax ( www.equifax.com ), a worldwide leader in enabling and securing
global commerce, brings buyers and sellers together through its information
management, transaction processing, direct marketing, and customer
relationship management businesses. Atlanta-based Equifax (NYSE: EFX) serves
the financial services, retail, credit card, transportation,
telecommunications/utilities, information technology and healthcare
industries, as well as government. Equifax adds knowledge, expertise,
convenience and security to provide value-added solutions and processes for
its customers wherever they do business, including the Internet and other
networks. Equifax employs about 12,000 associates in 17 countries with sales
in almost 50 and has $2 billion in revenue.
Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax's future plans,
objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future
events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these
statements. Those factors could include changes in worldwide and U.S.
economic conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer
debt, changes in demand for the Company's products and services, risks
associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, the
spinoff of Payment Services on a timely basis without adverse impact on the
Company's operations, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking
information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included in
the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and 10-Q
for the period ended September 30, 2000.
Equifax is a registered trademark of Equifax Inc. Equifax Credit Profile,
Equifax Credit Watch and Score Power are trademarks of Equifax Inc.
SOURCE Equifax Inc.
ATLANTA, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Credit Watch(TM), developed by
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), a worldwide leader in enabling and securing global
commerce, provides online information enabling subscribers to quickly detect
possible identity theft and minimize its potentially devastating consequences.
Providing consumers of notice about activity on their credit file with
unmatched speed, the product also empowers consumers to manage their personal
credit more effectively. A rash of recent identity theft cases point to the
importance of consumer vigilance; Equifax Credit Watch(TM) makes it easier for
consumers with a front line of defense.
Equifax Credit Watch's 24-hour credit profile monitoring service provides
consumers with a quick, unique level of identity theft detection. A change in
a person's credit file, which the person did not initiate, can be an early
warning of identity theft. Available online at www.equifax.com , an annual
subscription to Credit Watch(TM) costs $39.95.
Powered by Equifax's consumer information technology, Equifax Credit
Watch(TM), within 24 hours of posting, alerts consumers via e-mail to
significant new entries on their Equifax credit file, such as new account
inquiries or updates reflecting late payments. In addition, Equifax Credit
Watch(TM) provides six personal credit profiles; access to a consumer hotline
in the event changes in their Equifax Credit Profile(TM) reveal potentially
fraudulent activities; and the ability to initiate a review of their credit
file via e-mail.
"Identity theft can wreak havoc on a consumer's personal finances," said
Mike Cummins, Vice President and General Manager of Equifax's Consumer Direct
Unit. "That's why it's increasingly important for consumers to manage and
track their credit efficiently, utilizing secure technologies and products
that will enhance the security of their transactions and consumer identity.
Our Credit Watch(TM) product is part of our ongoing strategy to enlighten,
enable and empower consumers to manage their own financial well being while
taking precautions against the risk of fraudulent transactions."
Experts say some victims of identity theft can suffer years of financial
and emotional distress. A recent study by the California Public Interest
Research Group (CALPIRG) and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse showed the
average victim of identity theft did not learn about it until 14 months after
the theft occurred. It then took the victim many months to fully resolve the
problems caused directly by the identity theft.
"The important thing about Equifax Credit Watch(TM)," said Dr. Alan F.
Westin, President of the Center for Social and Legal Research, "Is that it
empowers everyone, whether a stock broker or a store clerk, with the tool they
need to be informed, to protect themselves and to fight against the invasion
and financial impact of identity theft."
A federal crime since 1998, experts say identity theft has reached
epidemic proportions in recent years. According to a recent Kiplinger's
(March 2001) article, identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime
in America with about one in five American families affected over the past
several years. Evidence of identity theft continues to mount with news
reports such as a recent article citing a Forrester Research report stating
that the Federal Trade Commission, charged with helping consumers whose
identities have been misappropriated, received 100 to 200 calls a week when it
opened its toll-free help lines in November 1999.
With over a century of experience dealing with sensitive consumer
information, Equifax understands the importance of providing a secure consumer
environment. All Equifax consumer products, including Equifax Credit
Watch(TM), Equifax Credit Profile? and Score Power(TM), are backed by
Equifax's patent-pending authentication technology solution, which serves as
an additional barrier to identity theft. Validating user identity through a
string of interactive queries unique to the individual, authentication
provides a high-tech solution developed to protect consumers against two of
the biggest public policy issues of our day -- privacy invasion and identity
theft. And because Equifax has harnessed secure technology in products that
actively help consumers identify, reduce and resolve credit related problems,
consumers now have viable solutions to their information privacy concerns.
About Equifax
Equifax ( www.equifax.com ), a worldwide leader in enabling and securing
global commerce, brings buyers and sellers together through its information
management, transaction processing, direct marketing, and customer
relationship management businesses. Atlanta-based Equifax (NYSE: EFX) serves
the financial services, retail, credit card, transportation,
telecommunications/utilities, information technology and healthcare
industries, as well as government. Equifax adds knowledge, expertise,
convenience and security to provide value-added solutions and processes for
its customers wherever they do business, including the Internet and other
networks. Equifax employs about 12,000 associates in 17 countries with sales
in almost 50 and has $2 billion in revenue.
Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax's future plans,
objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future
events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these
statements. Those factors could include changes in worldwide and U.S.
economic conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer
debt, changes in demand for the Company's products and services, risks
associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, the
spinoff of Payment Services on a timely basis without adverse impact on the
Company's operations, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking
information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included in
the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and 10-Q
for the period ended September 30, 2000.
Equifax is a registered trademark of Equifax Inc. Equifax Credit Profile,
Equifax Credit Watch and Score Power are trademarks of Equifax Inc.
SOURCE Equifax Inc.
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