Press Release

US CRACKS BIGGEST ID FRAUD CASE - WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR UK CONSUMERS?

Neil Munroe, Member of Identify Fraud Consumer Awareness Group available for comment on ID Fraud and Theft

www.equifax.co.uk

London, August 2008 - The US authorities have charged 11 people in connection with the theft of credit card details, with allegedly 40 million credit and debit card numbers being stolen. This involves a number of US retailers, including TJ Maxx the US parent of T K Maxx which, last year, was reported to have had its computer databases hacked into with thousands of customers potentially at risk from ID theft.

Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax and a member of the Identity Fraud Consumer Awareness Group, which is an industry wide non-competitive group focused on increasing public understanding of ID fraud and theft, can provide comment on the issues and risks. He can also offer advice to consumers on what they can do to try to find out if they have been a victim of ID theft.

Key facts:

40% of adults surveyed by Equifax in May 2008 said they have been a victim of ID or credit card fraud
41-50 year olds are most at risk, with 30% admitting to being victims of ID fraud, followed by those in their 50's at 24%
8% of ID fraud victims said their details had been obtained by fraudsters over the internet
21% of those who had been a victim of ID fraud said it had taken over 200 hours to deal with banks, credit card companies and other lenders in order to get details corrected
67% of UK consumers said they do shred their personal details - perhaps prompted by the increased media awareness on ID fraud. 63% said they had changed their attitude to their personal data as a result of seeing more about ID fraud in the press

Survey of over 600 Equifax customers May 2008

Neil Munroe, Member of the Identity Fraud Consumer Awareness Group and External Affairs Director of Equifax has extensive experience on this issue and is available to provide media comment.

Members of IFCAG include:

ACPO
APACS
BBA
Callcredit
CIFAS
DVLA
Equifax
Experian
FSA
HMRC
IPS
Metropolitan Police

Neil Munroe is available to provide comment on identity fraud and data breaches. Neil Munroe has extensive experience and expertise on the subject of identity fraud. He can provide soundbites on the size of the problem, ways in which ID theft and fraud can take place including the latest trends and give advice on ways consumers can protect themselves from becoming a victim.

Neil Munroe can be contacted via the Equifax PR Team at HSL:

Elinor Puzey/Louise Fowler/Cecile Stearn/Wendy Harrison on 020 8977 9132 louise@harrisonsadler.com