VeriChip Launches ``Get Chipped'' Promotion

Press Release Source: Applied Digital Solutions

VeriChip Corporation Launches National ``Get Chipped'' Promotion
Thursday October 24, 9:15 am ET

First 100,000 Registrants and All Qualified ADSX Shareholders Eligible for $50 Introductory Savings

PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oct. 24, 2002-- New Authorized VeriChip Centers for "chipping" and distribution established in Arizona, Texas and Florida

Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. an advanced technology development company, today announced the launch of a national "Get Chipped"(TM) promotion for VeriChip, a subdermal personal verification microchip. The first 100,000 registrants and all qualified ADSX shareholders will be eligible for a special introductory savings of $50 at the time of "chipping." Details on the "Get Chipped" promotion will be posted soon on the Company's website: www.adsx.com.

The Company also announced that it has established four new Authorized VeriChip Centers for "chipping" and distribution in Arizona, Texas and Florida. Including these new centers, there are now seven Authorized VeriChip Centers in the United States: Phoenix, Arizona; San Antonio, Texas; Naples, Florida; Port St. Lucie, Florida; McLean, Virginia; Boca Raton, Florida; and Sunrise, Florida.

The "Get Chipped" registration program will assist the Company in determining where and when to establish future Authorized VeriChip Centers. The Company's fully equipped mobile center - ChipMobile(TM) - has increased its marketing efforts in the Southeast region, maintaining a full schedule of visits to recreational and stadium events and general "awareness" locations. The ChipMobile itself is a distribution center and mobile "chipping" facility. Those interested in seeing a photograph of the ChipMobile, or in learning more about its schedule of community visits, are invited to visit www.adsx.com.

Today's announcement comes two days after the Company issued a press release describing a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that VeriChip is not a regulated medical device "for security, financial, and personal identification/safety applications."

As previously described by the Company, the marketing of VeriChip involves these three main categories:

- VeriChip Subscribers (individuals who decide to "Get Chipped");
- Authorized VeriChip Centers (healthcare facilities/distribution points where the sales of VeriChip and "chipping" procedures take place); and
- VeriChip System Affiliates (locations that use proprietary VeriChip scanners and password access to the GVS Registry).

These three categories are all supported by the Global VeriChip Subscriber (GVS) Registry, which provides immediate access to a secure database containing subscriber-supplied, personal verification information. The GVS Registry service is hosted and maintained by Digital Angel Corporation's state-of-the-art operations centers in Riverside, California, and Owings, Maryland.

Those interested in becoming VeriChip subscribers, in establishing an Authorized VeriChip Center, or in becoming an affiliate or partner in marketing VeriChip are invited to subscribe on-line or call this toll free phone number: 1 800-970-CHIP (2446).

With the FDA's recent ruling, the Company will focus initial U.S. marketing efforts on very promising applications for VeriChip related to security, financial anti-fraud and personal identification/safety.

In the security field, VeriChip can be used in a variety of security, defense, homeland security and secure-access applications. These applications include using VeriChip to control authorized access to government installations and private-sector buildings, nuclear power plants, national research laboratories, correctional facilities, and sensitive transportation resources. VeriChip is able to function as a stand-alone, tamper-proof personal verification technology or it can operate in conjunction with other security technologies such as standard ID badges and advanced biometric devices (e.g. retina scanners, thumbprint readers or face recognition devices). The use of VeriChip as a means for secure access can also be extended to include a range of consumer products such as PCs, laptops, cars, cell phones, and even homes and apartments.

In the financial arena, VeriChip can be used as a personal verification technology that could help to prevent fraudulent access to banking (especially via ATMs) and credit card accounts. VeriChip's tamper-proof, personal verification technology can provide banking and credit card customers with the added protection of knowing their accounts could not be accessed unless they themselves initiated -- and were physically present during -- the transaction.

VeriChip can also be used in identity theft protection. Crime statistics show that identity theft claims hundreds of thousands of victims every year. VeriChip offers a simple solution: a tamper-proof, personal verification technology that will deter identity theft by making it virtually impossible for criminal elements to access someone else's financial accounts and records.

About VeriChip(TM)

VeriChip is a miniaturized radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and healthcare applications. About the size of a grain of rice, each VeriChip product contains a unique verification number and will be available in several formats, some of which will be insertable under the skin. The verification number is captured by briefly passing a proprietary scanner over the VeriChip. A small amount of radio frequency energy passes from the scanner energizing the dormant VeriChip, which then emits a radio frequency signal transmitting the verification number. "Getting chipped" is a simple, outpatient procedure that lasts just a few minutes and involves only local anesthetic and insertion of the chip. VeriChip Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions.

About Applied Digital Solutions, Inc.

Applied Digital Solutions is an advanced technology development company that focuses on a range of life-enhancing, personal safeguard technologies, early warning alert systems, miniaturized power sources and security monitoring systems combined with the comprehensive data management services required to support them. The Company's Advanced Technology Group offers a complete CRM solution to commercial and government customers, as well as a full array of security-related data collection, value-added data intelligence and complex data delivery systems for a wide variety of end users including commercial operations, government agencies and consumers. Applied Digital Solutions is the beneficial owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corporation. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.adsx.com.

Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.

ENDS

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