EQUIFAX AND HNC FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS JOINTLY DEVELOP APPLICATION FRAUD RISK SCORE; GEMINI VERIFY SCORE COMBATS FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

Equifax and HNC Financial Solutions have announced the joint development of a unique and comprehensive identity authentication service. The Equifax Gemini Verify Score will give U.S. credit grantors an enhanced application fraud risk predictor as part of a credit file. It combines the strength of Equifax's comprehensive credit data with HNC Financial Solutions' extensive neural network technology and fraud control experience to systematically identify credit applications that present a real fraud risk.

James J. Allhusen, Equifax executive vice president and group executive, North American Information Services, said the new service will provide U.S. credit grantors with an important advantage in their efforts to better manage fraud losses.

"By teaming with HNC to develop this new product," said Allhusen, "we will help our customers increase the number of good accounts they book and improve customer satisfaction. This process will also help legitimate consumers avoid the traumatic consequences of identity theft."

Using Equifax credit file data and applicant information, the identity authentication score will provide an analytic approach to fraud control. Gemini Verify Score leverages the neural network technology and fraud expertise HNC used to develop the widely adopted Falcon fraud detection system. To further boost the score's predictive power, Equifax SAFESCAN flags will be accepted as optional input variables. As a result, Equifax will be able to offer a comprehensive application-fraud scoring service to financial institutions and retailers seeking to avoid potentially suspicious applications before they are booked.

Initial test results show that 50% or more of potential frauds can be detected by inspecting just 5% of the lowest scoring applicants. Performance improvements over other scoring solutions range from 150% to over 500% (results will vary depending upon the situation and analysis). And because the score is being developed on a broad range of data, Gemini Verify Score will provide a measurement tool that will aid in exploring markets and customer segments not previously considered.

Michael Thiemann, president, HNC Financial Solutions, said, "Lost sales and opportunities during the fraud verification process are among the hidden costs of fraud control. Sometimes these losses are higher than the fraud losses themselves. By providing credit grantors with a predictive tool that allows them to operate at very low verification rates, application fraud control becomes a realistic undertaking."

The Gemini Verify model is housed at Equifax and the score output can be delivered along with the credit file. Purchasing scores incrementally from Equifax avoids the effort, expense and delay of installing an in-house scoring system.

Equifax Gemini Verify Score will be available in the second quarter, 1999. For more information, please contact Jim Seal at 404-885-8040 (Equifax) or Patsy Campbell at 619-546-8206 (HNC Financial Solutions).

Equifax is a co-sponsor of the HNC 1999 Financial Technology Conference in San Diego, March 4th - 6th. Visit the Equifax booth for more information.

HNC Financial Solutions, an HNC Software business unit, provides a powerful set of predictive business solution modules that address the mission-critical, customer-lifecycle management needs of financial institutions. Headquartered in San Diego, California, HNC Software Inc. is a world leader in the development and delivery of predictive software solutions in client/server environments. HNC provides innovative predictive software systems in the financial services, retail, insurance information, electronic commerce, and telecommunications markets. For more information, see http://www.hnc.com or contact Jane Leonard, HNC Software Inc., 5930 Cornerstone Court West, San Diego, CA 92121, 619-546-8877. For investor relations hotline, call 800-396-8052.

EQUIFAX is a worldwide leader in shaping global commerce by bringing buyers and sellers together through its information, transaction processing, consulting and knowledge-based businesses. Equifax serves the banking, financial, retail, credit card, telecommunications/utilities, transportation and healthcare industries and government. Founded in 1899, Atlanta-based Equifax today has 14,000 employees in 18 countries and sales in more than 45 countries. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 1998, were more than $1.6 billion http://www.equifax.com.