Debix Researches ID Theft

AUSTIN -- Debix, the Identity Protection Network, today announced new research showing forty percent of Fraud Alerts are not set properly, leaving millions of victims unprotected from identity fraud. To address this problem, Debix is offering consumer tips and a free, automated service to set Fraud Alerts properly.

Congress enacted the FACT ACT of 2003; this law enables consumers to protect themselves by adding a Fraud Alert to their credit file. This alert provides the creditor a phone number to contact the consumer and verify they are opening a new account. The number one recommendation for consumers who have had their personal information stolen or breached is to set a Fraud Alert. This is what people are told by the FTC, Law Enforcement, and in almost every victim notification letter that has gone out to 90 million American consumers in the past year and a half.

The good news is once a Fraud Alert is set, creditors are complying by contacting consumers to get their approval prior to opening new credit accounts, said Julie Fergerson, VP of Emerging Technology for Debix and co-founder of the Merchant Risk Council. ?The bad news is that in forty percent of the cases, Fraud Alerts are not set properly due to inaccuracies in credit bureau information. Even worse, he system consumers use to set their Fraud Alert does not notify them when failures occur. This leaves millions of consumers who think they have set their Fraud Alerts and believe they are protected, when they are not.

Debix Inc.