Three leading firms in their own right- Microsoft, eBay and Citizens Bank, have made a mutual pact to help each other. Together they have started a novel venture that will allow them to warn each other about compromised accounts.

The Internet Fraud Alert service has been launched on Thursday by the three companies, and will allow benefit them against online security breaches. Companies conducting investigations of fraudulent activity online often find compromised accounts of other firms’ customers, but until now, there wasn’t an easy way to report the findings, said Nancy Anderson, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft. The Internet Fraud Alert service will allow investigators to report stolen account credentials, such as passwords or credit card numbers, to the appropriate online vendor, she said.

Their concerns aren’t misplaced, considering that the Anti-Phising Working Group recorded their estimates of around 1 million Americans, whose accounts had been compromised in 2009. “I don’t think it’s a big secret that online fraud continues to be a pernicious problem for consumers,” Anderson said.

Paypal, which is an eBay subsidiary, is also in the picture and the founders are hoping that more companies will chip in. As of now, the program is under the administration of the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) and is backed by Accuity, a provider of payment routing data, the American Bankers Association, Anti-Phising Working Group, the National Consumers League and the United States Federal Trade Commission.

The new program is “an important new piece of our arsenal to fight online fraud and protect consumers,” Anderson said. “The institution responsible for that account … will receive an immediate alert so they can take immediate action. It’s an effort to get the right information into the right hands of the right people.”

Vouching for this innovative endeavor, the deputy director of the FTC, Chuck Harwood was quoted as saying, “Internet Fraud Alert is a promising and innovative approach to help financial and online institutions discover hijacked accounts and close them or inform the affected consumers. We hope that someday there won’t be a need for a secure database of stolen account credentials.”

Companies that want to join the program will have to apply and be confirmed as legitimate, Anderson said. But the current members want the program open to all reputable companies that do business online, she said.