Lloyds TSB and O2 have been accused of failing to keep confidential customer data secure after an undercover investigation has revealed how easy it is to get your hands on personal information in the UK.
A Channel 4 documentary has revealed that employees from the two companies unknowingly supplied confidential information to a private investigations firm. It also showed how easy it is to obtain medical and benefit records.
It is claimed that up to 10,000 unregulated private investigators (PIs) use a network of contacts at banks, phone companies, police stations and government agencies to gain access to personal information.
The Dispatches documentary “Watching the Detectives” – which was a year in the making – revealed that a private investigations firm, Xfor, managed to acquire information from staff at Lloyds TSB and O2.
Posing as a security consultant, the film-maker Chris Atkins approached Xfor for information on a potential client, Tom Puukko. Puukko, an advertising executive from London, posed as a “target” for the film.
For £750 each, Xfor investigators got hold of a copy of Puukko’s itemised mobile phone bill and his Lloyds TSB current account statement, within days.
O2 said: “We take the subject of customer data security very seriously. We can confirm that a bill was sent to a caller who passed all our security checks, including providing us with the password for the account.”
A statement from Lloyds TSB said: “We have investigated this case and found human error to be the root cause. The individual involved has now been retrained.”
