Affinion and Edentify Join Forces to Advance Fraud Detection Services
Posted by Terrence DeFranco on Tue, Apr 18, 2006 @ 10:36 AM
Norwalk, Conn. and Bethlehem, Pa
Affinion Group, a leading global affinity marketer, and Edentify, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: EDFY), a leading provider of identity management and fraud detection solutions, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive marketing agreement that will allow Affinion to incorporate Edentify’s IDBenchmark™ solution into its product offerings. Now, by including this patented identity fraud assessment, detection, and prevention technology solution from Edentify in its services, Affinion will provide consumers an unprecedented way to proactively manage their identity information and avert potential instances of identity theft and fraud.
Edentify’s IDBenchmark™ uses a proprietary process to assess and score the risk of fraud associated with specific manipulated identities, and will allow Affinion to analyze the identity data of its own members and determine the level of risk linked to possible incidences of identity manipulation and theft. Users of Affinion’s ID theft prevention services, including PrivacyGuard, PC Safety Plus, HotLine and others, will be empowered with Edentify’s identity risk score, allowing them to proactively monitor the level of risk associated with their identities relative to how it is used across many different industries and public databases and potentially stop their identities from being used as part of a crime. This new technology will also be used by Affinion Group in developing new ID theft products.
“Our service, coupled with Edentify’s revolutionary technology, keeps consumers one step ahead of would-be ID thieves, and is perhaps their best chance of avoiding identity-related criminal abuse,” says Frank Abagnale, an Affinion Group spokesperson, former master forger, and leading fraud prevention expert, whose life story inspired Steven Spielberg’s movie, Catch Me if You Can. “Punishment for fraud and recovery of stolen funds are so rare that prevention is the only viable course of action. This new offering provides unsurpassed opportunities to deter this spiraling crime.”
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, hitting 27.3 million victims in the past five years, and costing them over $56 billion in damages, according to a study from Javelin Strategy & Research. In fact, it has become so prevalent that an identity thief strikes on average every 3.5 seconds.
“Taking a proactive approach to securing identity information is the most effective way to prevent identity fraud,” said Terrence DeFranco, Chief Executive Officer of Edentify, Inc.
“By interfacing our ID Benchmark™ technology with Affinion’s ID theft prevention services, consumers can see exactly how risky their online buying behavior, for example, might be, and make the necessary adjustments in their behavior to secure their identity information.”
The first product to use this new technology will be IdentitySweep, the first real-time identity management service for consumers. Created by Affinion Group and MyPublicInfo, Inc., a leader in consumer identity protection, IdentitySweep will make this new technology available to customers in the near future.
Affinion Group was the first to develop a membership credit monitoring product in 1992, and remains the largest with some 4 million members in the U.S.
“As the leader in credit monitoring and identity theft protection, we are excited to incorporate Edentify’s advanced technologies into our suite of solutions that includes PrivacyGuard, PC Safety Plus and HotLine,” said Tom Rusin, Chief Revenue Officer and General Manager of Affinion. “Our new protection services are ushering in a new era of identity fraud protection that will benefit Affinion's more than 4,500 marketing partners and their customers across multiple industries.”
About Affinion Group
Affinion Group is a leading affinity direct marketer of value-added membership, insurance and package enhancement programs and services to consumers. With more than 30 years of experience, Affinion Group currently offers its programs and services worldwide through more than 4,500 affinity partners. Its diversified base of affinity partners includes leading companies in a wide variety of industries, including financial services, retail, travel, telecommunications, utilities and Internet. Affinion Group also has a growing loyalty solutions operation that administers points-based loyalty programs. Based in Norwalk, Conn., Affinion Group has approximately 3,600 employees throughout the United States and in 13 countries across Europe.
Affinion Group has established itself as a premiere security, credit monitoring and identity theft protection innovator. It launched HotLine, a leading ID theft, credit card, fraud protection and security service in 1969. PrivacyGuard, a comprehensive membership credit monitoring product which was created in 1992, remains the largest in the U.S. with 4 million members. Other ID theft protection services in Affinion’s thriving security business include PC SafetyPlus, an identity theft software service that protects members with a personal firewall to thwart hackers and other online ID threats. PC SafetyPlus software features automatic updates and service upgrades for protection against prevailing computer viruses and worms.
ABOUT EDENTIFY
Edentify, Inc. (http://www.edentify.us) is one of the leading organizations dedicated to developing and deploying technology solutions utilized in preventing identity theft and fraud. Edentify has intellectual property rights to two solutions aimed at detecting and preventing identity fraud. The first is a patented information-based solution that analyzes identity information of individuals in large corporate and government databases, and is capable of detecting and scoring incidents of identity manipulation and potential fraud (Identity Quotient Index™). The second intellectual property is a unique biometric solution (technology-based solution) marketed through the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, InMotion Biometrics, Inc. (“IMB”), that combines face and voice recognition technologies for authenticating the identity of an individual. Edentify sells its solutions directly, and through channel partners in the financial services, healthcare, and government sectors. Future plans include the development of an integrated product that combines our information-based ID manipulation detection capability with IMB’s biometric technology, thereby enabling more accurate enrollment and, subsequently, a more reliable identity protection system.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements of future goals and similar statements reflecting other than historical facts constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which are described in Edentify’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Edentify undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.
Press Contact:
Mike Lizun
Gregory FCA
(610) 642-8253
Email: Mike@GregoryFCA.com
Corporate Contact:
Terrence DeFranco
Edentify, Inc.
(610) 814-6830
Email: TmDefranco@Edentify.us