Debix Recommends 44th President Commit to a Zero-Tolerance Approach for Identity...

Debix Recommends 44th President Commit to a Zero-Tolerance Approach for Identity Theft

Public Hearing Focuses on Stopping Identity Theft, A Serious
Problem for Every American
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Debix (www.Debix.com), the nation's leader in proven identity
theft protection solutions, today announced that it is recommending to
the incoming Presidential administration that it take a
"zero-tolerance" approach for identity theft, and that it agree not to
treat this growing crime as just a cost of doing business. Debix is
making these recommendations in testimony today before the "Commission
on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency" on how to stop identity
theft, a serious problem for every American.

"Tolerance is a real barrier to ending identity theft. We tolerate
it by budgeting $50 billion in fraud losses every year. We excuse weak
security practices that fail to protect consumers over eight million
times every year," said Julie Fergerson, VP of Emerging Technologies
for Debix, who is appearing before the Commission. "While identity
theft is complex, the cure is simple - ask consumers for permission
before using their identities. They know if they are applying for new
credit, requesting medical care, or applying for a job. All we have to
do is start asking permission and stop tolerating identity theft."

Fergerson presented a preview of Debix's quantitative research
proving that identity theft stops when you ask the consumer for
permission. A recent Debix study of 259,761 subscribers found that
over three months, from October 2007 to December 2007, Debix
subscribers responded to 30,618 Instant Authorization(TM) calls from
banks and stopped 380 reported attempts of identity theft. Most
importantly, there were zero incidents of identity theft when banks
asked consumers for permission before using their identities.

Fergerson also presented Debix's recommendations for dramatically
reducing identity theft including:

-- Ask consumers for permission before using their identities

-- Enhance the existing systems that facilitate consumer
permission in financial services by implementing the
recommendations from the ANSI / Better Business Bureau
Identity Theft Standards Panel (IDSP)

-- Extend the existing systems to stop medical and employment
identity theft.

"At Debix we have zero tolerance for identity theft. We believe
business and government should embrace the same philosophy.
Implementing our simple recommendation to ask the consumers permission
before taking action will provide the ability to eliminate the
majority of identity theft," said Fergerson. "A thief can convince
someone else they are you, but they can't convince you that they are
you."

Fergerson is joined by three other experts in identity theft, Jay
Foley, Executive Director of the Identity Theft Resource Center; David
Mortman, CSO-in-Residence at Echelon One; and Lisa Sotto, Partner,
Hunton & Williams.

Sponsored by the Center for Strategic & International Studies
(CSIS), the public hearing is being held April 28, 2008 from 9-11:15am
at 1800 K Street NW, B-1B Conference Center in Washington, DC. More
information about the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th
Presidency is available at http://www.csis.org/tech/cyber/.

About Debix Inc.

Debix Inc. operates the first national Identity Protection Network
dedicated to protecting consumers, and the organizations that serve
them, from identity theft. The Debix Network is the only identity
protection solution that proactively stops identity theft at the
moment it is attempted. Backed by exclusive, patent-pending
technology, the Debix Network brings consumers together with financial
institutions, state and local governments, and law enforcement to
catch identity thieves in the act. With its "zero-tolerance" approach
to prosecuting the crime of identity theft, Debix's mission is to
eradicate the problem altogether. Led by the nation's most experienced
identity protection experts, Debix is continuously working on the
development of innovative new technology and services to protect
consumers. The company is partnering with a wide range of national
organizations, including the Identity Theft Resource Center, Merchant
Risk Council, American National Standards Institute and the Better
Business Bureau, to develop programs and solutions to improve identity
theft protection services. To date, more than 35 state and local
governments have joined the Debix Network to provide protection
service to their citizens. The company is headquartered in Austin,
Texas and privately funded. For more information, visit www.Debix.com
or call 888-DebixMe (332-4963).

THUNDER FACTORY for Debix Inc.
Jaclyn Santiago, 818-206-8304
Jaclyn@thunderfactory.com
or
Sarah Andrus, 415-992-3285
Sarah@thunderfactory.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008