25 million personal details lost in the post, Articles from Voodish.

25 million personal details lost in the post

Posted: November, 20 2007

As crazy as it would seem in today’s security mad countries, Two computer discs holding the personal details of half the families in the UK have gone missing. Lost in the post, sent via standard delivery.

In an emergency statement to MPs, Mr Darling apologised for what he described as an “extremely serious failure on the part of HMRC to protect sensitive personal data entrusted to it in breach of its own guidelines”.

MPs gasped as Mr Darling told them:

The missing information contains details of all Child Benefit recipients: records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families.

Fraud protection

The HMRC has set up a Child Benefit Helpline on 0845 302 1444 for customers who want more details.
The data was sent on 18 October and senior management at HMRC were told it was missing on 8 November and the chancellor on 10 November.

MISSING DATA INCLUDES…

National insurance number
Name, address and birth date
Partner’s details
Names, sex and age of children
Bank/savings account details

Mr Darling said banks were adamant that they wanted as much time to prepare for his announcement as possible.

If someone is the innocent victim of fraud as a result of this incident, people can be assured they have protection under the Banking Code so they will not suffer any financial loss as a result.

Mr Darling said people should monitor their accounts “for any unusual activity”.

Chairman resigns

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the disappearance of the two discs and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which monitors HMRC, is investigating the security breach.

Uniformed officers were earlier checking HMRC’s offices in Washington, Tyne and Wear.