Member Article

Banks leave customers open to identity fraud

A number of British banks have been accused of disregarding data protection guidelines by dumping their customer’s personal details into outside rubbish bins. The Information Commissioner is investigating two branches of NatWest after campaign group Scamsdirect allegedly uncovered rubbish bins full of bank account information, and credit and debit cards.

The two branches under investigation are in Fareham and Southampton, but have further highlighted the issue of identity theft on a national scale, where it is reported that more than 100,000 people are affected by this type of crime each year.

A spokesman for the Information Commissioner said: “Clearly, where personal information is not disposed of securely, there is a risk that it will fall into the wrong hands. “It is not enough for them merely to have security procedures in place. They must make sure that those procedures are followed in practice.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .