Equafax - Eqifax - Equifax Credit Watch Credit Report and Score - How To Get Early Warning!

Equafax - Equifax - Eqifax Credit Watch  Credit Report and Score - How You Can Get Early Warning!

News Release: Get Equifax Score Watch Now!

Equifax Credit Watch(TM) Provides Early Warning Of Identity Theft to Consumers
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 equifax, 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. Get Equifax Score Watch Now!

"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. Get Equifax Score Watch Now!

"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, 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. Get Equifax Score Watch Now!

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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.