ICONIX to Protect 100 Million Consumers from Email Scams this Holiday Season
'Checking It Twice' program safeguards consumers against malicious online fraud to restore confidence in email
Expanded Email Client Support Now Includes Gmail
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 6 -- ICONIX, Inc., the trusted email identification company, today introduced its "Checking It Twice" Program to help consumers quickly identify email messages that are safe to open, shielding them from email scams such as phishing attacks. Beginning today, as a public service, ICONIX, Inc. will verify the identity of over 300 email senders at no charge to either the sender or recipient. The senders include eBay, PayPal, financial organizations such as Bank of America and Citibank, online retailers such as amazon.com and Dell, online travel services such as Expedia and Travelocity, plus airlines, hotels, charities and other leading companies.
"More people are going online to shop during the holiday season," said David Jevans, chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group. "Consumers need to be even more vigilant at this time of year so they don't become victims of Internet scammers. Bogus emails that try to trick consumers into giving out their personal information have a disturbing impact on legitimate businesses. Solutions that positively identify trusted senders of email will help restore consumer confidence and aid us in waging a war against online fraud."
ICONIX "Checking It Twice" Program Helps Consumers Fight Online Fraud
With the "Checking It Twice" Program, a gold lock with a check mark appears next to the sender's name in the email in-box. This image, called a Truemark(SM) icon, indicates that the identity of the sender has been checked twice -- first the message source is confirmed using industry-standard email authentication methods, and second the sender is verified against a list of senders maintained by ICONIX. This double check ensures that the message is not a spoof.
ICONIX, Inc. provides a free software plug-in to consumers which automatically performs these checks and enables many popular email browsers and clients to display the Truemark icons.
"Iconix has helped me take back control of my email," said Ana Laura Martinez, frequent online shopper and Iconix eMail ID customer. "Before this, if I saw a bunch of messages from a company like eBay, I was never sure which ones were real, so I'd delete them all. Now, when I see the icon, I know these messages are okay to open."
"The introduction of this service provides consumers with information to avoid being defrauded by email scammers," said Jose Picazo, president and CEO of ICONIX, Inc. "Much of today's email is authenticated behind the scenes using industry-standard techniques. By adding an identification and visual display service on top, we make it easy for consumers to tell which messages are real. We're pleased to provide tools that protect consumers from email fraud and help restore the value of email as an important communications tool."
The Iconix eMail ID plug-in is free to consumers. In addition to Hotmail, MSN, SBC Yahoo!Mail and Yahoo! Mail, the plug-in is also available now for Gmail, and will soon be available for most other popular email programs. The plug-in can be downloaded at www.iconix.com.
Additional information about the "Checking It Twice" Program, and a complete list of senders being identified is available at www.iconix.com. This program was developed independently of the senders as a public service to consumers using publicly available authentication information. Companies not included in the program should contact ICONIX Inc. to learn more about how to be an identified sender in the Truemark service.
About ICONIX, Inc.
ICONIX, Inc. is the leading innovator in trusted email identification solutions. ICONIX, Inc. provides the industry's first visual eMail ID solution for businesses and consumers. Visual eMail ID enables consumers to quickly identify messages from legitimate senders, which proactively combats widespread email-based identity theft techniques, such as phishing. Iconix eMail ID is the only standards-based visual authentication solution that works across various email platforms. For more information, visit www.iconix.com.
NOTE: Iconix, Truemark, and the Iconix logo are trademarks or service marks of Iconix, Inc. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Unless indicated at www.iconix.com, the entities mentioned herein have not endorsed the Checking it Twice Program
Contact:
Jan Tarzia
Nadel Phelan
831.440.2404
jan@nadelphelan.com
Source: ICONIX, Inc.
CONTACT: Jan Tarzia of Nadel Phelan, +1-831-440-2404, or jan@nadelphelan.com, for ICONIX, Inc.
Web site: www.iconix.com/
