Jailed car crash data thief ordered to pay back £25,500

A former employee of Nationwide Accident Repair Services, who was banged up in jail for six months in November 2018 for profiting from the theft of thousands of customer records which he sold to rogue firms, has been ordered to pay back £25,500 in a confiscation order.

Mustafa Kasim was handed the order following a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court, London this week, after the judge determined he had raked in thousands of pounds as a result of the offences.

The case, brought by the Information Commissioner’s Office, means Kasim has three months to pay under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or could face a 12 month prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay £8,000 costs.

Kazim became the first person to be imprisoned following an ICO prosecution, which was brought under the Computer Misuse Act.

Phillip Bagnall of Eccles, Greater Manchester, a former colleague of Kasim’s, was also prosecuted for stealing and then selling the personal data of motorists to rogue telemarketers. He got off relatively lightly, however, being fined £500 and ordered to pay £364 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.

ICO group enforcement manager Mike Shaw said: “Our investigations found that Mr Kasim had benefitted financially from his illegal activity. As a result of his activities, people whose data had been stolen received cold calls and his former employer faced huge remedial costs.

“Personal data obtained in this way can be a valuable commodity and selling it may seem like an easy way to make money but the penalties can be severe. The outcome of this case should serve as a deterrent to others.”