£20K reward for missing data discs
Wednesday, 5 December 2007 12:00 AM
The government is offering a cash reward for the safe return of two computer discs containing the personal details of 25 million child benefit claimants.
After the first stage of the police investigation failed to uncover the discs, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has now issued a £20,000 reward for the return of the CDs.
Government workers have also been asked to check their office space and homes in case the data CDs turn up.
The Metropolitan police confirmed today: "In addition to the police appeal HMRC are offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information that leads to the safe return of the CDs containing the child benefit data and the child benefit data itself."
Two computer discs containing the personal details of 25 million child benefit claimants were lost in the post in October, sparking widespread concerns of data security and identity theft.
The Met began its own search for the missing discs on November 18th, days before Alistair Darling went public with news of the biggest data security blunder in the history of HMRC.
Officers overseeing the search have been attempting to identify the route taken by the discs from HMRC's offices in Washington, Tyne and Wear, to the National Audit Office in central London.
In a statement today the Met said: "Searches are prioritised at the locations that witness accounts suggested were most likely to contain the lost package.
"The search areas have expanded as investigations have clarified potential routes the package may have travelled."
The Met said this had proved "particularly challenging" due to the number of CDs in government offices.
Computers have also been forensically examined in a bid to corroborate witness statements.
The Met concluded: "[The investigation is] now extending to areas that require searches or enquiries to be made in order to rule them out. However indications suggest that these locations are less likely to have been a transit route for the parcel than the areas already searched.
"Therefore we have taken the decision that a police appeal to staff at HMRC, National Audit Office and the Treasury is required in order to request all staff to check both at work and other locations in case the package or disks have turned up."
TNT, the courier firm in charge of transporting the discs, had also asked its employees to look for the missing CDs and set up a dedicated phone line for any information.
Both the Met and HMRC insist there is no evidence the data has fallen into criminal hands.
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