LONDON--(Marketwire - 02/23/11) - ValidSoft Limited (www.ValidSoft.com), the wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications, Inc. (OTC.BB:ETAK - News) (www.elephanttalk.com), announced today that consumers can expect higher levels of card fraud in 2011(1) and advises financial institutions in the UK and U.S. to implement the most effective fraud management security technology solutions to better safeguard their organizations and customers against the rising tide of sophisticated fraudsters. Card fraud has affected 13 million people in the UK alone, according to research by Card Protection Plan. (http://www.cpp.co.uk/news/44565/) In the U.S., bank card fraud is the third most worrisome threat to individuals, following national security/terrorism and identity theft, stated Unisys Security Index. (http://www.unisyssecurityindex.com/)

"In the U.S., industry reports indicate that fraud management at retail banks and credit unions is an ever-moving target as the threat of fraud continues to impact financial institutions, with fraud loss prevention their major concern," said Pat Carroll, CEO, ValidSoft Limited, a leading provider of electronic fraud detection and prevention solutions.

"In the UK, February is the Office of Fair Trading's 'scam awareness month' -- although we may think that we're savvier than ever about scams, many of us are still falling prey to clever fraud attempts," said Pat Carroll. "Approximately 4% of us lost money to some kind of scam or fraud last year(2) -- it may not seem very high, but this is approximately 30 people on every commuter train leaving London."

"ValidSoft is urging financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic to focus their fraud management strategies and appropriation of funding to address expectations of increasing fraud attacks as a critical mission. It's imperative for fraud management departments to centralize, invest in technology solutions and place strong emphasis on their customers' protection, which are all essential in fraud mitigation. Most consumers are unaware about the existence of fraud and victims are not even notified by their banks. The growth of card fraud requires a call-to-action for financial organizations and governments to work together to create a coordinated front and educate consumers about how to avoid being victimized. Prevention is the key," said Carroll.

ValidSoft fraud prevention solutions have been demonstrated to dramatically improve the ability of banks to detect and prevent fraud. The company offers solutions across different banking channels that can be used to protect consumers against fraudsters. Its technology can help identify fraudsters when they try to use or steal a consumer's identity, or when they try to get a bank to authorize a transaction that the consumer did not make. ValidSoft's technology solutions can be used for cards (credit and debit), online banking, M-banking, telephone banking and contact centers. For example, among the company's product suite is VALid ®, which provides a strong authentication capability, with the following benefits:

• Combats the latest electronic fraud -- phishing, vishing, smishing, pharming, man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser.
• Detects, prevents and resolves card fraud as it occurs.
• Assures that users, e.g. banks and customers, are really who they say they are.
• Guards against transactions being tampered.
• Provides a single, consistent approach across all electronic channels.
• Users don't need special equipment like tokens or card readers.
• Matches the level of security to the risk.
• Supports millions of users.