Experian Forms Dedicated Fraud Solutions Business Unit

In conjunction with National Fraud Awareness Week, Experian®, a global information solutions provider, today announced it has formed a new division dedicated to providing leading-edge fraud prevention and detection systems for financial services organizations. Experian's Fraud Solutions division offers expertise and tools to assist clients with fraud detection and prevention, online identity authentication and compliance with government regulations for identity verification.

"Responsible use of data is the most powerful weapon against fraud," said Lyn Porter, vice president, Fraud Solutions for Experian. "Our fraud prevention products use data and technology to detect fraud at the application stage and stop fraud losses before they start."

It is estimated that application fraud costs the US economy $35 billion annually. According to a Gartner G2 report issued in January 2002, the Internet is now the preferred card-not-present channel for fraud perpetrators. In 2001, $700 million was lost in online sales despite efforts by merchants, card issuers and law enforcement to curb fraud.

"Experian clients in the U.S. and abroad have realized significant savings from our fraud prevention products," said Porter. "Progress is being made in the war on fraud, and we are proud to be at the forefront with an innovative and unique approach to stamping out application fraud."

Experian's current fraud prevention product line includes: — Authentication Solutions, an online identity verification service for transactions on the Web or through call centers. It is used by leading financial services institutions including Visa, Dell Financial Services and First American Payment Processing.

— National Fraud Database(SM), the nation's first and only cross-industry repository of known fraud records. Participating organizations use established best practices to verify and categorize their own fraud records, then share this data with other database members to identify fraudsters and prevent them from perpetuating further fraud. Current members include Toyota Financial Services, Sprint PCS, American Express, Dell Financial Services, Discover Financial Services and Bank One/First USA.

— Detect(SM) compares credit applications against shared applicant data on file as well as leading edge analytics and technology to identify inconsistencies and anomalies that indicate identity theft or other types of fraud.

— Fraud Shield(SM) and Fraud Shield Score(SM) detect inconsistencies with identification information submitted by the applicant and compares application data against the consumer's credit file helping lenders recognize fraudulent Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers. Fraud Shield Score provides a score that quickly quantifies the risk of fraud or first payment default. This is used by a majority of lending institutions nationwide.

— Checkpoint® is the first step clients can take to verify the name, address and phone number of applicants. This product is used by more than 100 clients from all market sectors with strong identity verification needs.

— Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Name Matching Service offers financial institutions a quick and convenient way to comply with government-imposed regulations to verify that a new customer's name does not appear on the Treasury Department's listing of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The persons on this list are identified as dangerous and a threat to national security. Experian offers this resource exclusively to its clients at no cost.

About National Fraud Awareness Week, Aug. 4-10

To raise awareness and educate consumers and businesses about the impact of fraud and white-collar crime on society, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners along with public and private sector supporters hold the annual National Fraud Awareness Week.

About Experian
Experian® enables organizations to find the best prospects and make fast, informed decisions to improve and personalize relationships with their customers. It does this by combining sophisticated and intelligent decision-making software and systems with some of the world's most comprehensive databases of information on consumers, businesses, motor vehicles and property. Through multi-channel delivery of its Web-based products and services, Experian enables its clients to conduct secure and profitable e-business and develop state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for communicating and building relationships with customers. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, Calif. Its 12,000 people support clients in more than 50 countries. Annual sales are approximately $1.5 billion.