To: National Desk

Contact: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Communications Department, 703-837-6111

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and its sister organization the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), have announced that Chase Paymentech Solutions, Global Payments Inc., HSBC -- North America and Washington Mutual have joined the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography.

The Coalition, which includes leading banks, credit card companies, third party payment companies and Internet services companies, is dedicated to fighting child pornography over the Internet. The goal of the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is to eradicate commercial child pornography by 2008.

Child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet. The Internet has enabled instant access to child pornography by thousands and possibly millions of individuals around the world. The ability to use credit cards and other payment methods to purchase child pornography has made it easier than ever to obtain.

"The commitments from these financial services leaders demonstrate the momentum of the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC and ICMEC, and chairman of the Coalition. "Their collective expertise will go a long way toward helping us follow the flow of funds and disrupt this insidious business."

Other members of the Coalition include: America Online, American Express Company, Authorize.Net, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services LLC, e-gold, First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, North American Bancard, Nova Information Systems, PayPal, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, Wells Fargo and Yahoo! Inc.

Members of the Coalition represent 88 percent of the U.S. payments industry, measured by volume (dollars running through the system).

The exact number of child pornography web sites is difficult to determine. In 2001, the CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation operated by NCMEC, received more than 24,400 reports of child pornography. By August, the number of reports had climbed to more than 375,000.

If members of the public have knowledge of a child pornography Web site, they are encouraged to visit the CyberTipline -- http://www.cybertipline.com -- or to call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800- 843-5678) immediately. Those outside the United States can also call the CyberTipline or contact any number of hotlines around the world. To learn more about these hotlines, visit the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) at http://www.inhope.org.

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About Chase Paymentech Solutions

Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the world's largest merchant acquirer accepting payments via traditional point of sale, hospitality, Internet, retail, catalogue and recurring billing. The privately held company is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries and is a result of the 2005 integration of the former Paymentech and Chase Merchant Services. The integrated companies processed approximately 15.5 billion transactions in 2005, with more than $560 billion in annual bankcard and debit volume in both the United States and Canada. Chase Paymentech Solutions' customer base includes more than 600,000 merchants with nearly 1 million locations across the United States and Canada, including many of the top brands. Chase Paymentech is a joint venture between JPMorgan Chase & Co. and First Data Corp. Learn more about Chase Paymentech at http://www.chasepaymentech.com.

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About Global Payments Inc.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN - news) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies, multi-national corporations and gaming establishments located throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region. Global Payments offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, check verification and recovery, as well as terminal management. The company also provides consumer money transfer services from the U.S. and Europe to destinations in Latin America, Morocco and the Philippines. For more information about the company and its services, visit http://www.globalpaymentsinc.com

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About HSBC -- North America

HSBC -- North America comprises all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses, including the former Household International businesses. The company's businesses serve nearly 60 million customers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance, commercial banking, private banking and corporate investment banking and markets. Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, HFC and Beneficial brands. For more information, visit http://www.hsbcusa.com.

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About Washington Mutual

Washington Mutual, through its subsidiaries, is one of the nation's leading consumer and small business banks. At Sept. 30, Washington Mutual and its subsidiaries had assets of $348.88 billion. The company has a history dating back to 1889 and its subsidiary banks currently operate more than 2,600 consumer and small business banking stores throughout the nation. Washington Mutual's press releases are available at http://newsroom.wamu.com.

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About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 401,200 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 122,600 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 104,900 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its Web site at http://www.missingkids.com.

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About the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, nonprofit 501(c) (3) nongovernmental organization. It is the leading agency working on a global basis to combat child abduction and exploitation. It is the sister organization of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. For more information visit http://www.icmec.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

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