CHARLOTTE OBSERVER QUOTES DR. LINDA EAGLE OF THE EDCOMM GROUP AS EXPERT SOURCE ON IDENTITY THEFT

With identity theft in the headlines nearly every week now, Dr. Linda Eagle, an expert on information security and President of the New York-based Edcomm Group, wants to be sure consumers know about the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA).

Dr. Eagle was recently featured in a story on identity theft in the Charlotte Observer in response to the latest ABN Amro Mortgage Group’s announcement that they had recovered a data tape that had been missing for over a month containing confidential information such as the names, account information, payment histories and social security numbers for two million of their residential mortgage customers.

According to Dr. Eagle “This case proves again that no matter how careful consumers are about identity theft, they are at the mercy of other entities out there.”

With over 10 million Americans victimized by identity theft annually — costing individuals $8 billion and US businesses $52 billion last year alone — identity theft is reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S. In fact, new research recently released by Unisys Corp. shows nearly 40% of Americans are more concerned than ever about identity theft, and are willing to pay extra fees to banks and credit card companies for more protection.

It’s no wonder credit card companies are aggressively hyping and promoting new protection plans for ID fraud. According to Dr. Eagle, “Identity theft has nearly become its own business.”

Before paying those additional fees, Dr. Eagle says consumers should know about their protections under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) —known as the FACT Act — which was passed to protect consumers yet is not widely publicized.

“Free credit reports, and fraud alerts are some examples of consumer protections offered under the Act. FACTA also provides additional privileges such as allowing military personnel to place a specific alert to their profiles, indicating to any potential creditor that the individual is an active duty serviceperson, and therefore may not be the actual applicant of any new loan, credit card or account,” Dr. Eagle added.

Dr. Eagle, who has appeared on CNN Money and on National Public Radio, has extensive expertise in bank industry training, information security, and banking compliance issues. The Edcomm Group has provided educational programs to over 50 banks covering all aspects of banking, including teller training and compliance training.

For more information on the FACT Act or any other banking compliance or regulatory issue, contact Dr. Linda Eagle at 888/433-2666 or linda.eagle@edcomm.com. (www.edcomm.com) (www.bankersacademy.com)

The Edcomm Group is an 18-year-old multimedia education and communication consulting firm specializing in the development of creative business solutions that improve productivity, customer service and market share — providing bottom-line results. The Edcomm Group (www.edcomm.com)(www.bankersacademy.com) is headquartered in New York City with an Advanced Design Center located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact:

Linda Eagle
President, The Edcomm Group
1-888-4EDCOMM
linda.eagle@edcomm.com