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Susan Henson
Public Relations
714 830 5129 Telephone
susan.henson@experian.com Email

Experian provides flexible, customized fraud solutions for the financial services industry in response to USA PATRIOT Act

Solutions provide businesses with consumer identity verification and fraud prevention tools to support the requirements of Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act

Costa Mesa, Calif., June 5, 2003 – Last month the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its final regulations for certain companies to implement customer identification requirements under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Experian^®, a global business solutions company, today announced its offering of customized fraud solutions programs to assess these companies’ vulnerabilities, help them comply with new regulations and safeguard them from fraud and identity theft. The types of companies that must comply with these regulations include financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, trust companies, security brokers and commodities and futures dealers.

"Experian has a well deserved reputation as a pioneer in developing privacy, security and fraud prevention policies in the marketplace," said Lyn Porter, Experian’s vice president of Fraud Solutions. "We will continue to invest in the development of innovative tools and techniques that raise the bar of effective fraud prevention while protecting consumers and creating and maintaining a positive customer experience."

Compliance with Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act must be completed by October 1, 2003 at the risk of substantial financial penalties. The rules requires all financial institutions to develop risk-based procedures to identify new customers by verifying their name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. Experian’s fraud prevention tools and services are designed to gather intelligent data quickly to verify customers, prevent identity theft and check against the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) database during new account openings.

"Experian’s fraud solutions bring together best practices for balancing customer convenience, privacy protection and fraud prevention to help businesses comply with government regulations and prevent fraud losses," said Porter. "We believe we are the best option for companies as they devise their USA Patriot Act compliance strategies."

Experian offers a range of flexible tools and service options for a customized solution to fit a business need or to enhance a company’s customer identification program necessary for compliance with Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT ACT. These easy to implement tools and services can be used on a standalone basis or in conjunction with other tools based on a company’s specific procedures, the type of account being opened and the origination channel.

About Experian

Experian^® provides strategic support to organizations around the world. It helps its clients target, acquire, manage and develop profitable customer relationships. It does this by combining its advanced decision support and outsourcing services with information on consumers, businesses, motor vehicles and property. Experian works with more than 40,000 clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, health care, insurance, retail and catalog, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, property, e-commerce and government. Millions of consumers rely on Experian's consumer credit services to meet their financial management needs. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, Calif. It has a 175-year history and unbroken sales growth over the past 22 years. Its 13,000 people support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales exceed $1.5 billion.

For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.experian.com