07/04/2008

HSBC Loses Customers' Details Disc

The HSBC bank has admitted that a computer disc, containing details of 370,000 customers, has been lost.

The disc contains customers' names, dates of birth and levels of life assurance cover.

It is understood that the disc went missing four weeks ago after it was sent via courier from the bank's Southampton offices.

HSBC confirmed that it has informed the Financial Services Authority about the loss.

The bank has stressed that the disc does not contain customers' addresses or bank account details and that the potential for the details to be used to commit fraud were "limited".

The announcement is the latest in a series of incidents where organisations have lost discs containing customers' details.

Both the Nationwide building society and the Norwich Union insurance company were fined for failing to look after their customers' details properly.

Other cases included the Skipton building society losing details of 14,000 customers; the theft of a laptop, containing details of 600,000 people, from a car belonging to a Royal Navy officer; and the admission by nine NHS Trusts in England that they had lost patient records covering hundreds of thousands of people.

However, the most notable case was the loss of discs from HM Revenue & Customs containing the details of 25 million recipients of child benefits. Information included on the discs included names, addresses, dates of birth, child benefit numbers, National Insurance numbers and bank account details.

(KMcA/JM)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

09 February 2015
RBS Warns Customers Over 'Free Trial' Scams
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is helping to raise awareness of consumer scams impacting its customers. RBS and NatWest were receiving over 390 calls a day to complain of charges of around £80 a month being applied to customers' accounts that they don't recognise.
26 August 2008
Sensitive Customer Data Sold On Auction Site
Bank details of over one million customers have been discovered on a computer sold on eBay. The PC - sold for £35 - had sensitive information on the hard drive, comprising bank customers' private information. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and its subsidiary, Natwest, have confirmed their customers' details were involved.
13 December 2007
PM Faces Committee Over Data Loss
The Prime Minister has been given a 'grilling' by an influential Parliamentary committee over his domestic and foreign policy - but with an emphasis on the domestic side - and on the lost Revenue and Customs data scandal in particular.
23 January 2013
Labour Call For Construction Industry 'Blacklist' Inquiry
Calls have been made for a full inquiry into claims of the blacklisting of workers on major public projects such as Crossrail and the Olympics. A Commons debate will be held on the issue following the disclosure of a database of 3,000 names used to vet workers in the construction sector for more than 15 years.
28 November 2007
Fresh Revenue Data Mix-Up Probed
As the row over the loss of disks containing personal information on millions of people rumbles on, it has emerged that the personal and financial details of more than 50 people were mistakenly sent to a Scottish training company.