MicroBilt Guarantees "Red Flag" Identity Theft Prevention; Helps Small Businesses, Consumers Recoup Losses

With the November 1 deadline for compliance with new FTC regulations fast approaching, MicroBilt Corp. is backing its “Red Flag” identity verification screenings with guarantees protecting small businesses and consumers against losses incurred through identity theft. MicroBilt becomes the first risk management provider to guarantee Red Flag checks used by businesses extending credit or evaluating prospective employees, tenants and students.

The Federal Trade Commission added the new Red Flag rules to the Fair and Accurate Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) in January requiring businesses to define procedures for detecting, preventing and mitigating identity theft. Banks, credit unions, leasing and rental companies, auto dealers and many other businesses are required to establish and update processes for identifying “red flags” in an applicant’s history and taking appropriate actions. With full institutional compliance mandated by November 1, many smaller businesses remain unaware that the new rules exist or apply to them.

“With identity theft, it can take only a few extra seconds to prevent a crime that takes years to recover from,” says Bob Raleigh, Chairman of MicroBilt Corporation. “We are very committed to increasing awareness and supporting initiatives like Red Flags that help ensure responsible use of personal data. By effectively guaranteeing that the person applying for credit is who they say they are, we help safeguard both businesses and consumers against massive exposure.”

Protecting Consumers While Avoiding Bad Loans

Businesses are required to define processes for detecting “red flags” in identity verification such as discrepancies in address histories, fraud alerts on consumer reports, suspicious use of Social Security numbers, inactive accounts that suddenly become active, credit freeze notifications, credit reports showing unusual patterns of activity, notices from victims of identity theft or law enforcement agencies and discrepancies between applications and third parties. They are then required to define appropriate courses of action.

MicroBilt’s Red Flag solution is a streamlined, low-cost process that analyzes the likelihood of identity fraud instantaneously. If the information provided by the applicant generates an acceptable score, the transaction is guaranteed up to $25,000.

“Like all our services, our Red Flags initiative is aimed at giving small businesses greater peace of mind as they do business,” Raleigh says. “We deliver the information they need to manage risk and stay compliant as they enter into a transaction and offer some security if something ultimately goes wrong.”

MicroBilt’s Red Flag solution utilizes the FICO Falcon ID Generalized Risk IDentity (GRID) score – a model that assigns scores that measure the likelihood that an application submitted for any service is a fraud, backed by identity theft insurance from American International Group (AIG). FICO Falcon ID applies Fair Isaac’s proven fraud analytics based on more than a decade of protecting 65% of the world’s credit cards from fraud. MicroBilt’s Red Flag solution features a suite of additional verification tools should a Red Flag be detected.

About MicroBilt (www.microbilt.com)

MicroBilt has been an industry leader in risk management information since 1978 and an active member of the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA). A single source provider for credit bureau, collections, identity fraud prevention and screening data access and retrieval, MicroBilt is certified through and provides interfaces with the three national consumer credit bureaus, Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Experian (London Stock Exchange: EXPN) and Trans Union and three commercial bureaus, D&B (NYSE: DNB), Experian (London Stock Exchange: EXPN) and Equifax Business (NYSE: EFX), as well as LexisNexis (London Stock Exchange: REL), Fidelity National (NYSE: FIS), Fair Isaac (NYSE: FIC), Acxiom (NASDQ (GS): ACXM), First Advantage (NASDQ: FADV) and ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS). With solutions optimized for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), MicroBilt provides flexible data access to leading Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) and a broad range of industries at www.MicroBilt.com.