New Evidence of VeriChip Lies and Deception

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Katherine Albrecht kmaDate: Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 2:42 PMFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 3, 2008CASPIAN RELEASES NEW EVIDENCE OF VERICHIP LIES AND DECEPTIONGroup's Latest Report Sets

Record Straight on Chip Implants, Cancer, andmoreOpponents of the VeriChip implant are launching a new offensive againstthe controversial human microchip this week, amid reports that VeriChipplans to put its chipping division on the auction block. A new reporttitled "Microchip Implants: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions"released today by CASPIAN Consumer Privacy reveals dirty laundry thecompany would probably rather keep hidden as it seeks a buyer for itsbeleaguered product.The 42-page report was authored by CASPIAN director Dr. KatherineAlbrecht, a Harvard-educated privacy expert and long-time critic of theVeriChip. The highlight of the report is an eleven-page section titled"Cancer Cover-up" that describes a systematic pattern of lies anddeception engaged by VeriChip executives in an effort to downplay thefact that implantable microchips cause cancer in laboratory animals. The

report reveals how news outlets like Time Magazine, Business Week,and the RFID Journal were used as unwitting pawns in a VeriChip schemeto spread misinformation about the cancer studies. Since researchlinking the product to cancer first surfaced last year, each of thesepublications has repeated misstatements from VeriChip companyexecutives, in many cases printing the inaccurate statements verbatimand unchallenged."These were not subjective issues, they were plainly verifiable issuesof fact," Albrecht said. "We were saddened to see the misstatementsfallthrough the fact-checking cracks of these respected publications. Nowthat VeriChip is back in the headlines, we felt it was time to set therecord straight." VeriChip's media efforts have done little to salvage the company'spublic image or its financial performance, both of which plummeted afterresearch linking the implantable

microchip to cancer was widely revealedby the Associated Press in September 2007. The same company that oncepredicted revenues in the "billions" earned just $3,000 from itsmicrochip implant operations in the first quarter of 2008, as patientsshun the device that many are now calling the "cancer chip." Investors have also distanced themselves from the failing company, withVeriChip's stock plummeting from a high of $10.62 last year to just over$2.00 today. VeriChip's VP of business development, Jay McKeage, acknowledged theimplant division suffers from "a substantial cash burn" and is"notsustainable on its own." As a result, he says, VeriChip plans to"shopthe VeriMed / Health Link [human implantable chip] business aroundwidely" in hopes that another company will take the unpopular productoff its hands. However, with recent blog headlines like "VeriChip Death

Watch"makingthe rounds, Albrecht has a hard time imagining who, if anyone, will wantto buy the business. "This is a company that has engaged in a consistent pattern of makingfalse and misleading statements," she said. "It has lied to thepublic, to the media, to its shareholders, and to regulatory agencies," shesaid, citing additional evidence from the report indicating thatVeriChip hid cancer evidence from the FDA when the agency reviewed theimplant's safety in 2004. "We laid out all the evidence in our report," she added. "Wewant to make sure no one else gets burned by VeriChip." =============================================================ABOUT THE REPORTCASPIAN's new report, "Microchip Implants: Answers to Frequently AskedQuestions," is a comprehensive reference guide to implantable microchipsin animals and humans. It provides thoroughly-researched,

footnotedanswers to 85 of the most commonly asked questions about the implantablemicrochip, including religious, privacy, social, and health questions.The report concludes with a list of recommendations for patients, petowners, and policy makers affected by the device.The new report is available for free download on the group'sAntiChips.com website at:http://www.antichips.com/faq/index.htmlWhile on the website, readers are encouraged to download Dr. Albrecht'scomprehensive 52-page overview of the studies, "Microchip-Induced Tumorsin Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990-2006,"and to review scanned copies of the original documents.=====================================================================ABOUT CASPIANCASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is agrass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since

1999 andirresponsible RFID use since 2002. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S.states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumersabout marketing strategies that invade theirprivacy and encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retailspectrum.http://www.spychips.com/http://www.antichips.com/http://www.nocards.org/You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others whomay find it of interest.=====================================================================To or to the Caspian-newsletter-l mailing list, clickthe following link or copy and paste it into your browser:http://mailman.nocards.org/mailman/listinfo/caspian-newsletter-lIf you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also or via email by writing

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