Indian call centre staff are reportedly selling UK broadband user’s financial data, including credit cards and security codes, for as little as 25p per user for bulk purchases.
An investigation by The Sun found a former call centre worker who sold the bank account details, personal data – such as job description and credit card numbers with the three-digit CVV security code of 1,000 users – for £250.
The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service CIFAS called the news an “absolute bombshell”.
A CIFAS spokesman said: “I am astounded. The information being traded is everything a criminal needs to clear out an account or steal an identity. That this is happening on an industrial scale is enough to make anyone shudder. This is a wake-up call. Security processes and staff vetting need to be reviewed.”
In The Sun report, a man called Deepak Chuphal claimed to have 25 contacts in nine call centres who would double their salaries by accepting bribes of £400 a month to steal the data. He could supply 5,000 British credit card holders, 25,000 bank accounts and the personal profiles of 50,000 people a week he said.
Paul Vlissidis, technical director at security testers NGS Secure is quoted as saying: “People have put their trust in banks and ISPs who will no doubt have hammered home the importance of their customers keeping passwords unique and private. But who is drilling them on their own security practices?”
