Inland Revenue have lost YOUR personal information?
11.November, 2009
The Inland Revenue and Customs tax collecting department of the UK Treasury?
The Inland Revenue and Customs tax collecting department of the UK Treasury have lost the personal details of nearly half the population.
This includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, Bank and Building Society details and more.
Assuming that this information will fall into criminal hands.
If you were a criminal how would you use it?
It’s a frightening thought, isn’t it? But it appears that the details on these disks contain information of people that are receiving child allowance. If you don’t receive this or haven’t received it recently, your details aren’t there. It could be used quite easily, I would imagine. Money could be withdrawn from bank accounts, which is probably the main thing. People have been advised to keep a check on their account details for suspicious activity, to change their PINs, and to let the bank know immediately if there is an unauthorised transaction. If they find an unauthorised bank account or credit agreement, for example for loans, credit cards or mobile phones, have been opened in their names, they have been advised to the company and notify the police. They also warn people that if their bank passwords are linked to personal data, ie a date of birth or a child’s name, it should be changed. It is incredible that this sort of information should be sent by ordinary post, what are the government thinking of? But all this advice gives us some idea of what the criminal could do if he were to obtain these disks. It’s just as well that we have been told of what’s missing, because if they had remained silent on this, we can be sure that someone would illegally be making a fortune from the details, though maybe this has started already.
11.November, 2009 um 9:43 am
Assuming I was a criminal, the only thing you could really get a benefit from it is to either sell the information, for the bank details (there are 15,000 "people’s info on one disk, or so i heard) Sell them disks for say 15K each. a fraudster could easily make that back off 15,000 people.
52million population (roughly) half would be 26 million peoples info on 1533 disks 15K each makes me £22,995,000.
Then sell the information to someone after those details for fake passports.
so 15K per disk this time That would make me another
£22,995,000.
So after all that hard work i would never have to work again, never have money troubles and i could move away from England (it would be sad, the government would have given me £45 million pounds just for me to swan off)
Just shows how bad this could be for the UK if it was in the wrong hands!
I hope it’s not…….
References :
Radio 2, the Daily Star and me.
11.November, 2009 um 10:05 am
It’s a frightening thought, isn’t it? But it appears that the details on these disks contain information of people that are receiving child allowance. If you don’t receive this or haven’t received it recently, your details aren’t there. It could be used quite easily, I would imagine. Money could be withdrawn from bank accounts, which is probably the main thing. People have been advised to keep a check on their account details for suspicious activity, to change their PINs, and to let the bank know immediately if there is an unauthorised transaction. If they find an unauthorised bank account or credit agreement, for example for loans, credit cards or mobile phones, have been opened in their names, they have been advised to the company and notify the police. They also warn people that if their bank passwords are linked to personal data, ie a date of birth or a child’s name, it should be changed. It is incredible that this sort of information should be sent by ordinary post, what are the government thinking of? But all this advice gives us some idea of what the criminal could do if he were to obtain these disks. It’s just as well that we have been told of what’s missing, because if they had remained silent on this, we can be sure that someone would illegally be making a fortune from the details, though maybe this has started already.
References :