Iconix Inc. is expected today to announce anti-phishing software called Truemark.
The Mountain View, Calif., vendor said several banking companies are testing the product, though it would not name them.
Truemark replaces the sender's name in e-mail messages with a company's logo. Iconix said these logos in the sender field cannot be duplicated and prove the messages are from the companies whose logos they carry. Phishers use e-mail to lure people to bogus Web sites in an attempt to get them to reveal personal information that could be used for identity theft.
Jeff Wilber, the vendor's vice president of marketing, said Iconix also verifies the logo owner's identity and that it is "a reputable business."
Two major Internet portals have committed to supporting Truemark. Yahoo Inc. was to begin showing corporate logos to users of its Yahoo Mail service today, and Microsoft Corp. is expected to add the feature to its Hotmail service this month.
People must download a Truemark software plug-in to see the logos in their in-boxes. Iconix hopes to encourage these downloads by adding a feature that will let consumers customize their own outgoing messages.
Iconix will also encourage its bank customers to promote the software to end users.
Mr. Wilber said in an interview Wednesday that Iconix expected to name some bank customers soon.
"We've actually had faster uptake with the regional banks, because they're more nimble, although the interest level is high with the larger banks," he said.
Avivah Litan, a vice president and research director at the Stamford, Conn., market research company Gartner Inc., said that though consumers might find the idea comforting, it does nothing to protect their accounts.
Banks using Truemark should reinforce it with other tools to fight online fraud, Ms. Litan said.
"Banks are looking to give consumers a stronger sense of security," she said. Of the security products available, "the most effective ones" at spotting and stopping fraud "are transparent to consumers - they don't see them."
