Indian call centres are facing a fresh backlash following claims made in The Sunday Times that rogue staff are offering personal data – including credit and debit card details – for as little as 2p per record.
According to the report, one pair of data traders claimed they had access to 45 different sets of personal data, covering up to 500,000 Britons.
The data included names, addresses, phone numbers, as well as credit card numbers, start dates, expiry dates and the three digit security number – all the details a potential fraudster would need to tap into a victim’s bank account.
The claims will be a major embarrassment to both companies and call centres. It is estimated that more than 330,000 people work in the Indian sector, which is worth £3.2bn a year.
Despite some companies pulling their outsourcing out of the region, India call centres still handle many major accounts, including those of HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds.
Spanish bank Santander, which owns Abbey, recently announced that it would no longer use Indian call centres.
Indian authorities say their efforts to combat corruption have been hampered by the unwillingness of companies, keen to avoid negative publicity, reporting data losses.
Last summer, an undercover reporter working sister News International paper The Sun claimed to have been offered personal data for as little as 25p per user for bulk purchases.
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