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Child benefits claimants bank details missing in post
actionman_3
Posts: 142 Forumite
In this article it says bank details,addresses of child benefit claimants went missing in the post. What does M.S.E suggest we do. One man says he is going to close his account and open another.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2907495.ece
Taxman loses sensitive personal data on 25m people
Tax chief quits and 7.2 million families warned to check their bank accounts for fraud after personal data lost in post
Alistair Darling made a statement to the Commons this afternoon about the security breach at the tax office
Image :1 of 2
Nico Hines and Philip Webster, Political Editor of The Times
The names, addresses, dates of birth and the employment and bank details of 25 million people - almost every child in the country as well as their parents and carers - has been lost by HM Revenue & Customs.
Alistair Darling told the House of Commons this afternoon that two CDs bearing highly sensitive information including bank account numbers and National Insurance numbers failed to arrive after they were sent in the ordinary internal mail between government departments, in a catastrophic breach of security guidelines.
The Chancellor admitted that HMRC had made the same mistake on several occasions in the past six months.
Mr Darling said that he was informed ten days ago, and four days later asked the police to investigate.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Factfile: the taxman's mistakes
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
Paul Gray, the chairman of HMRC, resigned today as the blunder became public knowledge, and Opposition leaders have called on Mr Darling to consider his own position.
George Osbourne attacked the Chancellor for “lurching from one crisis to another” during his reign at the Treasury.
Mr Darling's admission that “I regard this as an extremely serious failure,” was met with derisive laughter from MPs. He advised every parent who claims Child Benefit to look very closely at their bank statements in the coming weeks for signs of fraud or identity theft.
On October 18, CDs carrying the personal details of every Child Benefit claimant in the country were sent to the National Audit Office by a junior member of HMRC. When it was discovered that those CDs had never reached their destination the information was sent again – this time by recorded delivery, but still against protocol.
It is understood that senior officials from HMRC were called to a meeting with Treasury officials at the weekend as the scale of the problem emerged.
At the request of the police, the news was kept secret while they tried to discover the perpetrators of what may be the biggest attempt at identity theft ever seen in Britain.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that it is investigating. Reports have suggested that police had visited HMRC child benefit offices in Waterview Park, Washington, Tyne and Wear.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said it was assisting Northumbria Police with the inquiry but could not confirm exactly where they were working.
The matter is so serious that Opposition spokesmen were being briefed by Mr Darling before his statement this afternoon.
Political analysts say that the resignation of Mr Gray, highly thought of in Whitehall, was inevitable given the scale of the scandal.
In his resignation letter, circulated to all HMRC staff, Mr Gray says: “I am announcing today that I will be standing down as HMRC Chairman as a result of a substantial operational failure in the Department.
"This is not the way I would have planned to organise my departure from HMRC. I had hoped to be around for a while longer, and to have had the continuing privilege of leading HMRC towards the vision we have been developing.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
Profile: departing tax chief Paul Gray
"But I am extremely proud of what all of you in the organisation have achieved during my time as Deputy Chairman and Chairman."
He adds: "I am extremely sorry that you may have learned about this first from the media."
Security experts said the scale of the latest data breach was unprecedented. Simon Davies, a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics who specialises in data security, said the scale of the latest breach was “spectacular, an example of the very worst practice possible".
He went on: “There is no way this amount of information should ever be committed to a single disk or computer.”
This is not the first time information security practices at HMRC have been called into question.
Last month 15,000 Standard Life customers were told that they could be at risk of fraud after a disk containing personal information on taxpayers went missing en route from the Revenue to the company's headquarters in Edinburgh.
The disk contained names, national insurance numbers, dates of birth and other pension details of Standard Life customers.
The Revenue routinely copies taxpayers' personal information on to disks that are then sent via courier from its Newcastle office to companies that manage pension accounts.
There are also reported cases of tax rebates being sent to the wrong address, and of recipients using the information to commit identity fraud.
In 2005, there were almost 2,000 reported cases of national insurance numbers being used by more than one person.
Mr Gray told a recent edition of BBC's Watchdog programme in relation to the Standard Life incident: "We have written to all customers concerned and where appropriate have put in place measures to check customers’ records for any fraudulent activity.”
HMRC is one of the newest government departments, it was formed by the merger of HM Revenue and Customs and Excise in 2005.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Factfile: the taxman's mistakes
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
It was immediately ordered to trim 25,000 of the 94,000 total staff, cutting costs year-on-year, while it was simultaneously ordered to improve services.
Only last month the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) delivered a damning verdict saying the two targets were at odds.
“It seems to us that HMRC is struggling to try and meet them both and that something has had to give in the meantime, namely the quality of HMRC’s services,” said an ICA report.
The giant department collects taxes and other Government receipts worth around £400 billion a year.
The private bank account details and National Insurance numbers of 7.2 million families have been compromised by the disappearance of computer records from HM Revenue & Customs, prompting the resignation of Paul Gray, its chairman.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, will tell the Commons this afternoon that the worst fears about Government data security have been realised — and that two disks have apparently "gone missing" containing the names and bank account details of 25 million people involved in claiming child benefit.
It is understood that they were being transported to the National Audit Office.
Times Online can reveal that the police were informed several days ago of the possible theft of the information. It is understood that senior officials from HMRC.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2907495.ece
Taxman loses sensitive personal data on 25m people
Tax chief quits and 7.2 million families warned to check their bank accounts for fraud after personal data lost in post
Alistair Darling made a statement to the Commons this afternoon about the security breach at the tax office
Image :1 of 2
Nico Hines and Philip Webster, Political Editor of The Times
The names, addresses, dates of birth and the employment and bank details of 25 million people - almost every child in the country as well as their parents and carers - has been lost by HM Revenue & Customs.
Alistair Darling told the House of Commons this afternoon that two CDs bearing highly sensitive information including bank account numbers and National Insurance numbers failed to arrive after they were sent in the ordinary internal mail between government departments, in a catastrophic breach of security guidelines.
The Chancellor admitted that HMRC had made the same mistake on several occasions in the past six months.
Mr Darling said that he was informed ten days ago, and four days later asked the police to investigate.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Factfile: the taxman's mistakes
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
Paul Gray, the chairman of HMRC, resigned today as the blunder became public knowledge, and Opposition leaders have called on Mr Darling to consider his own position.
George Osbourne attacked the Chancellor for “lurching from one crisis to another” during his reign at the Treasury.
Mr Darling's admission that “I regard this as an extremely serious failure,” was met with derisive laughter from MPs. He advised every parent who claims Child Benefit to look very closely at their bank statements in the coming weeks for signs of fraud or identity theft.
On October 18, CDs carrying the personal details of every Child Benefit claimant in the country were sent to the National Audit Office by a junior member of HMRC. When it was discovered that those CDs had never reached their destination the information was sent again – this time by recorded delivery, but still against protocol.
It is understood that senior officials from HMRC were called to a meeting with Treasury officials at the weekend as the scale of the problem emerged.
At the request of the police, the news was kept secret while they tried to discover the perpetrators of what may be the biggest attempt at identity theft ever seen in Britain.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that it is investigating. Reports have suggested that police had visited HMRC child benefit offices in Waterview Park, Washington, Tyne and Wear.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said it was assisting Northumbria Police with the inquiry but could not confirm exactly where they were working.
The matter is so serious that Opposition spokesmen were being briefed by Mr Darling before his statement this afternoon.
Political analysts say that the resignation of Mr Gray, highly thought of in Whitehall, was inevitable given the scale of the scandal.
In his resignation letter, circulated to all HMRC staff, Mr Gray says: “I am announcing today that I will be standing down as HMRC Chairman as a result of a substantial operational failure in the Department.
"This is not the way I would have planned to organise my departure from HMRC. I had hoped to be around for a while longer, and to have had the continuing privilege of leading HMRC towards the vision we have been developing.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
Profile: departing tax chief Paul Gray
"But I am extremely proud of what all of you in the organisation have achieved during my time as Deputy Chairman and Chairman."
He adds: "I am extremely sorry that you may have learned about this first from the media."
Security experts said the scale of the latest data breach was unprecedented. Simon Davies, a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics who specialises in data security, said the scale of the latest breach was “spectacular, an example of the very worst practice possible".
He went on: “There is no way this amount of information should ever be committed to a single disk or computer.”
This is not the first time information security practices at HMRC have been called into question.
Last month 15,000 Standard Life customers were told that they could be at risk of fraud after a disk containing personal information on taxpayers went missing en route from the Revenue to the company's headquarters in Edinburgh.
The disk contained names, national insurance numbers, dates of birth and other pension details of Standard Life customers.
The Revenue routinely copies taxpayers' personal information on to disks that are then sent via courier from its Newcastle office to companies that manage pension accounts.
There are also reported cases of tax rebates being sent to the wrong address, and of recipients using the information to commit identity fraud.
In 2005, there were almost 2,000 reported cases of national insurance numbers being used by more than one person.
Mr Gray told a recent edition of BBC's Watchdog programme in relation to the Standard Life incident: "We have written to all customers concerned and where appropriate have put in place measures to check customers’ records for any fraudulent activity.”
HMRC is one of the newest government departments, it was formed by the merger of HM Revenue and Customs and Excise in 2005.
Related Links
Q&A: what to do now
Factfile: the taxman's mistakes
Briefing: why was sensitive data sent on CD?
It was immediately ordered to trim 25,000 of the 94,000 total staff, cutting costs year-on-year, while it was simultaneously ordered to improve services.
Only last month the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) delivered a damning verdict saying the two targets were at odds.
“It seems to us that HMRC is struggling to try and meet them both and that something has had to give in the meantime, namely the quality of HMRC’s services,” said an ICA report.
The giant department collects taxes and other Government receipts worth around £400 billion a year.
The private bank account details and National Insurance numbers of 7.2 million families have been compromised by the disappearance of computer records from HM Revenue & Customs, prompting the resignation of Paul Gray, its chairman.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, will tell the Commons this afternoon that the worst fears about Government data security have been realised — and that two disks have apparently "gone missing" containing the names and bank account details of 25 million people involved in claiming child benefit.
It is understood that they were being transported to the National Audit Office.
Times Online can reveal that the police were informed several days ago of the possible theft of the information. It is understood that senior officials from HMRC.
If you find something irritating in my post or that you disagree with,then please don't jump on me ,just please ignore my post.I have come to the site for useful information and not to argue. thanks.
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