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COMPANY DIRECTORS CAN NOW BE BETTER PROTECTED FROM ID FRAUD

New Companies Act rules provide greater protection for Directors & Company Secretary personal addresses

London, 1st October 2009 - Leading ID fraud expert, Equifax, is alerting Company Directors and Company Secretaries that they can better protect their personal address details as a result of the new Companies Act which came into force today. Equifax believes this is a significant move in reducing the threat of ID and other frauds to Company Directors who could be a lucrative target for criminal gangs.

"There has been concern that the inclusion of Directors residential addresses on Companies House data - which is publicly accessible - was too easy for fraudsters who might want to target this potentially affluent group of individuals" confirmed Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax. "Previously a Director could only withhold their personal address from the public record through a confidentiality order from the courts and for many this wouldn't have been something they would even have thought necessary - until it was too late.

"But the new Companies Act, which came into force today, has tackled this by creating a new 'service address' entry on Companies House data for every Director. This means Directors no longer need to show their personal residential address on the public record, putting them one step further removed from the fraudsters."

To make the most of this change, Company Directors and Company Secretaries can go online to Companies House to revise their entry. They will simply need to provide a 'service address' for the public record. They will, however, still need to provide their personal address details - but these won't be accessible other than for explicit purposes*.

ENDS

*A Directors residential address will only be available to Specified Public Authorities. It will also be made available to Credit Reference Agencies who apply and satisfy the Registrar that they are a Credit Reference Agency within the meaning of section 243(7) of the Act.
For a Director to avoid the publication of ANY address, they will need to apply for a valid Confidentiality Order or make a successful application to the Registrar on the grounds that he/she is:

• at serious risk of violence or intimidation as a result of the activities of a company of which he/she is a director
• or has been, employed by the police or security services
• providing, or has provided, goods or services to the police or security services.

For further information please contact the Equifax Press Office: Wendy Harrison, Elinor Puzey or Louise Fowler on 020 8977 9132. louise@harrisonsadler.com