ChoicePoint(R) Helps Financial Institutions Comply With Identity Verification, USA PATRIOT Act Compliance

ALPHARETTA, Ga., May 13, 2003 -- ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) has launched a suite of custom tools to help financial institutions meet the identity verification requirements related to federal guidelines, including the USA PATRIOT Act, anti-money laundering and fraud statutes.

The guidelines and regulations, which require banks and other financial institutions to verify the identity of account holders, expand and strengthen the tools used by law enforcement to prevent financing of terrorism, identity theft and money laundering.

The USA PATRIOT Act -- an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" -- will require financial institutions to verify and identify all new customers, maintain records relating to information used to verify customer identities, and check customer names against government-maintained lists of suspected terrorists, including the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) list.

To help financial institutions comply with the new requirements, ChoicePoint provides a comprehensive, customizable suite of identity verification services, including due diligence, identity authentication, business credentialing, risk management, fraud and loss prevention, investigation and anti-money laundering solutions. The strength of these Customer Information Program solutions lies in the currency and comprehensiveness of ChoicePoint's information and flexible technologies which enable multiple ways to ensure strong identity verification depending on the customized needs of banks and financial institutions.

"The passage of new federal legislation sent a powerful message to the world that our nation's financial institutions will not be used by criminals, including global terrorists," said Michael Reene, vice president and general manager of ChoicePoint's Public Records Group. "We've been helping leading institutions since 9/11. We've bundled our various products into a full suite of informational weapons needed to verify that people are who they say they are, powerful 'weapons' for this highly sensitive market."

"For my investigations into organized crime and fraud prevention, I have relied on ChoicePoint solutions with measurable results," said Robert Knapp, former FBI Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of Organized Crime Investigations and a former UBS PaineWebber corporate vice president and director of asset protection and recovery.

ChoicePoint has recently implemented a variety of due diligence solutions with large financial institutions, health care and insurance clients for identity validation, fraud and investigative purposes. One of these is Trac Medical Solutions, where Jeffrey Frankel, Trac Medical's president and chief operating officer, says his organization has realized productivity improvements and the benefits of enhanced identity validation. "We chose the ChoicePoint solutions because the data was comprehensive and the technology was flexible and very adaptable to our systems and our needs," Frankel said.

ChoicePoint is uniquely qualified to work with the nation's financial institutions because of its position as the leading provider of identification data to all federal law enforcement agencies as well as 7,500 state and local agencies across the country. ChoicePoint's database of more than 17 billion public records includes in excess of 63 million criminal convictions and other identity verification data.

"Information is the best defense against the risks we face today," Reene said. "ChoicePoint is proud to work with our nation's financial firms to meet the requirements of this important legislation."

About ChoicePoint

ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) is the leading provider of identification and credential verification services for making smarter decisions in a world challenged by increased risks. Serving the needs of business, government, non-profit organizations and individuals, ChoicePoint works to create a safer and more secure society through the responsible use of information while ensuring the protection of personal privacy. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.choicepoint.com .

ChoicePoint and the ChoicePoint logo are registered trademarks of ChoicePoint Asset Company.

SOURCE ChoicePoint

Web Site: http://www.choicepoint.com