The first product in the new series is IP Inspector E-scam, a Web-based solution that defends against email fraud and "phishing" attacks by verifying email sources and checking the validity of embedded URLs. Phishing attacks, which have been on the rise of late, involve mass distribution of spoofed email messages that are designed to lead recipients to fraudulent Web sites in attempt to acquire sensitive personal and financial data.

IP Inspector E-scam uses IP addresses to uncover the location of an email's sender, determine the delivering email server, and validate whether URLs embedded in the body of the email are actually from the company purportedly requesting the information.

"This new product line further demonstrates Digital Envoy's commitment to preventing online fraud," says Rob Friedman, co-founder and executive vice president of business development at Digital Envoy. "We developed the IP Inspector family to include a series of products that acts as the first line of defense against both current varieties and future mutations of online fraud."

Digital Envoy said the new solution is a consumer-focused tool that is designed for deployment by financial service organizations, ISPs and other large enterprises for protection of their customer bases.

"Never giving personal information in response to an email request is obviously the best way to avoid a phishing attack and the associated identity theft and fraud losses," says David Helsper, vice president of engineering at Digital Envoy. "However, because these Internet scammers have become increasingly sophisticated, it's imperative that companies arm their customers with a way to validate incoming emails and stop these thieves in their tracks."

IP Inspector E-scam can be used with Microsoft Outlook, Eudora and Web-based email program such as Hotmail and Yahoo.