Equifax to Offer Consumers File Freeze in All 50 States
ATLANTA, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) announced today that it will offer consumers nationwide the option to freeze and unfreeze their credit files beginning on October 31, 2007. Equifax's voluntary security freeze procedures will be offered in 11 states and Puerto Rico, where there are no security freeze laws in place. For consumers in the 39 other states, Equifax will continue to offer consumers credit freeze opportunities afforded to them under the rules set by those states.
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Equifax also announced that consumers who purchase Equifax Credit Watch(TM) credit monitoring products will be offered the additional option of Credit Report Control, which will allow Equifax customers to lock and unlock their credit file through their Internet-based credit monitoring account. Credit Report Control will be available beginning October 25, 2007.
"For many years, Equifax has educated consumers on the importance of protecting themselves from identity theft through monitoring their credit, using the fraud alert system, and being vigilant to protect their personal information," said J. Dann Adams, President, Equifax U.S. Consumer Information Services. "File freeze has emerged as another option for consumers to use in the battle against identity theft. In the absence of one national standard for file freeze, we are closing the loop and allowing consumers in those states that do not have laws in place to take advantage of this type of protection."
In those 11 states and Puerto Rico, there will be no charge for a victim of identity theft to place, temporarily lift or permanently remove a file freeze. For all other consumers, the cost will be $10 to place, lift or remove the freeze. Further details about Equifax's voluntary file freeze program will be available on October 31 on the Equifax Website at www.equifax.com.
For those consumers who choose to purchase credit monitoring from Equifax Personal Solutions, Equifax Credit Watch with Credit Report Control offers another alternative. "More than a million consumers have chosen Equifax as their trusted partner to monitor their credit and protect themselves from identity theft," said Steve Ely, President, Equifax Personal Solutions. "Credit Report Control allows you to lock your credit file to prevent any new accounts being opened without your permission. Coupling credit monitoring with Credit Report Control is the most comprehensive solution available to protect against identity theft."
Equifax Credit Watch with Credit Report Control will be offered for $14.95 a month for Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring, $11.95 for Credit Watch Gold, or $6.95 for Credit Watch Silver products. Existing Credit Watch customers can add it to their existing membership for $2 a month. Details about Equifax Credit Watch with Credit Report Control will be available on October 25 at www.equifax.com.
About Equifax (www.equifax.com)
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses -- large and small -- rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 6,900 people in 14 countries through North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500(R) Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.
SOURCE Equifax Inc.
Released October 24, 2007