Banks: Safeguards are in place

Wednesday, 21, Nov 2007 12:00

The banking industry has moved to assure customers their deposits are secure after yesterday's revelation that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has lost two computer discs containing the entire database record of all child benefit recipients.

The identity of as many as 25 million people may have been compromised, the chancellor admitted, as two discs containing bank details and insurance information have been lost within internal HMRC mail.

A junior official allegedly ignored government regulations, copied the child benefit database and sent it to the National Audit Office.

The discs in question never reached their intended destination, however, opening the possibility the information may have fallen into criminal hands.

Alistair Darling has repeatedly insisted there is "no evidence" to fear the worse at this point.

Echoing the chancellor's assurance, a spokesman from the British Bankers Association stressed: "The details lost are not in themselves sufficient for an ID fraudster to access your bank account - additional security information and passwords are always required.

"If you are the innocent victim of banking fraud as a result of this incident, you are protected by the banking code, which means you should not suffer any financial loss as a consequence."

APACS, the UK's payment association, also stressed there was no evidence of an increase in suspicious activity.

Chief executive Paul Smee said: "While this incident is extremely serious, at this stage customers should not be unduly concerned, as there’s no evidence the data has fallen into criminal hands."

The government has advised those effected to be vigilant and not to disclose any account passwords over the phone or via email.