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Government Data loss - steps to protect yourself

Thanks to the jaw-dropping incompetence of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who lost 2 data disks containing financially sensitive information on 25 million people, almost every family in the country will need to be extra vigilant for years to come.

What went wrong?
Some idiot copied the entire database to two disks and sent it in the post where it got ‘lost’. (How some junior office worker could have the security clearance to download an entire database without it setting off an alarms is simply unbelievable.)

How you can protect yourself

• Check your bank statements carefully for any suspicious activity
• If you notice any suspicious activity notify your bank immediately
• If you notice any unauthorised bank account or credit agreements, for example, credit cards, mobile phones, or other financial agreements, notify the company involved immediately and contact the police.
• If you are naive enough to have any passwords related to your children’s names (always a bad idea), change them immediately to a more secure password.

NOTE - Thanks to the level of incompetence, you will need to be vigilant for years.

Add comment November 21st, 2007

Govt loses data on EVERY family in UK - crook’s wet dream

A monumental ‘blunder’ by civil servants has exposed every family in the UK to the possibility of identity fraud for years to come.

2 data cds containing the personal information of 25 MILLION people have gone missing. The discs, which include names of parents and children, their dates of birth, addresses and National Insurance and bank account numbers of all those who claim Child Benefit.

Now every family in the UK will need to be extra vigilant in checking for unusual activity - from mobile phone accounts to faked passports.

According to one expert, “If you are a thief, a fraudster, a blackmailer, a human trafficker or a terrorist, the details contained on these discs would provide you with what you need,” said the officer, a 20-year specialist in fraud and identity theft.

Add comment November 21st, 2007