Tuesday 6th November 2007
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has lost a CD containing details of nearly 15,000 Standard Life customers, it has emerged.
The loss, which occurred in September, was brought to light on BBC Radio 4s Money Box programme after customers were contacted to make them aware of the risks relating to their personal details becoming public.
About 20 discs in all were sent by courier from Newcastle to Edinburgh, but the missing CD was misplaced along the way.
Names, national insurance numbers and pension plan references may all be stored among the data, reports the Press Association.
The newswire adds that a HMRC spokesperson told the BBC: "We have asked customers to remain vigilant and have set up a number of dedicated HMRC telephone hotlines."
With five separate hotlines operating five days a week, many may view the response as an indication of the scale of the loss.
But the spokesperson continued: "Customers have been written to and precautionary measures have been put in place to check customers records for any fraudulent activity."
Meanwhile, Standard Life director of customer services John Gill reassured clients that there is no need to be unduly concerned.
"We have no evidence that the disc has fallen into third-party hands," he told the BBC.
"And we have also been closely monitoring all the accounts and have seen no indications of any suspicious activity."
In February, Nationwide was fined £980,000 by the Financial Services Authority after a similar loss, in which a laptop computer containing customer details was stolen from an employees home.
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