Equifax, Inc.

Equifax one of the "big three" credit agencies that along with Experian and TransUnion provides businesses and consumers the information needed to make modern credit markets function. With information on over 400 million credit holders worldwide, the Atlanta, Georgia based firm is a global service provider employs more than 5,000 people on 3 continents in order to generate revenues of over $1.5 billion.

The credit reporting industry was once primarily concerned with business-to-business transactions, but the growth of an enormous consumer credit industry has opened up new opportunities in products designed to aid consumers. By helping people understand and monitor their credit, the company has opened up whole new vistas of profit potential in the credit monitoring and fraud prevention business.

Identity theft is the growth crime of the 21st century and companies like Equifax are going to find a place fighting this new menace. Due to the enormous barriers to entry in its core market and oligopolistic market structure, Equifax is due to profit nicely in the coming years.