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BankruptcyNews
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 Posted - 14 March 2007 : 12:09:21
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Banks dumping customer details in street
Thousands of bank customers have been put at risk of identity fraud after their account details were dumped outside branches.
The Information Commissioner last night accused the companies involved of an 'unacceptable' breach of the Data Protection Act. Customer account details were left in waste bins, skips and bin bags outside 11 branches across the country.
The failures put consumers at risk of identity theft and fraud, which is rising at 30% a year and costs an estimated £1.7bn a year. Apart from the financial loss, victims often face huge upheaval in regaining control of their finances and ensuring any black marks are removed from their credit records.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith said: 'It is unacceptable for banks and other organisations to carelessly discard their customers' information.
'It is vital that banks and other organisations take security seriously. If they do not, they not only risk further action from the Information Commissioner but also risk losing the trust of their customers.
'Individuals must feel confident that banks and other organisations are safeguarding their personal information.'
The 11 financial institutions named and shamed are Halifax-Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Nationwide Building Society, the Co- operative Bank, HFC Bank, Clydesdale Bank, the Scarborough Building Society and United National Bank.
Also included were the Post Office and the Immigration Advisory Service, an independent organisation which provides information and support to immigrants and asylum seekers.
The information left in bin bags by the banks and others included names, addresses and bank account numbers, which are all that a criminal needs to steal an identity. These allow them to change account details, such as the address, take out loans or get hold of credit cards and debit cards to raid the accounts of their victims.
Nigel Evans MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Identity Fraud, demanded heavy fines for the organisations involved. 'It is absolutely unforgivable that these financial institutions have acted so irresponsibly,' he said.
'They seem to have ignored warnings about the need to keep customer details secure. Quite frankly, I am amazed that this is still going on. It is well known that criminals actively target bins in search of this sort of detail. This behaviour shows a cavalier disregard towards the protection of customers.'
The Information Commissioner's Office has asked the banks and other organisations to sign a formal undertaking to abide by the Data Protection Act in future. If they fail to do so, they would face action leading to prosecution and fines.
However, Mr Evans believes that much tougher action is needed immediately. 'The banks should not be treated with kid gloves,' he said. 'They are all too quick to impose penalties on customers when they step out of line. We need substantial fines in a case like this to set an example.'
The Financial Services Authority recently fined the Nationwide building society almost £1m over security failures which emerged following the theft of a laptop.
The British Bankers' Association said: 'Banks take their responsibilities for protecting customers' personal information very seriously and each bank has secure arrangements for disposing of confidential customer information.
'The banks concerned have fully investigated the circumstances and taken appropriate steps to ensure that any weak links in their security practices have been addressed.'
The Post Office said: 'We have taken great care to tighten all our procedures to ensure any customer data not needed is disposed of safely and securely at all times.'
SOURCE: Sean Poulter, Daily Mail
14 March 2007
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Banks dumping customer details in street
