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For the third time in two weeks, consumers in the United Kingdom face a card-related fraud threat. In the latest event, a buyer found personal details of bank customers in a computer purchased on online auction site eBay. A former employee at data-archiving firm Graphic Data UK Ltd. reportedly sold the computer on eBay without erasing the hard drive. According to the UK Daily Mail, the hard drive contained data pertaining to customers of American Express Co., the Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and National Westminster Bank PLC. An RBS spokesperson tells CardLine Global that Graphic Data confirmed the "inappropriate" sale of the computer. "As a result, historical data relating to credit card applications and data from other banks were not removed [from the computer]," the spokesperson says. An information-technology manager purchased the computer for £35.88 (US$65 or 45 euros) and found such data as bank-customer names and addresses, credit card numbers and mothers' maiden names, according to the Daily Mail. "We take this issue extremely seriously and are working to resolve this regrettable loss with Graphic Data as a matter of urgency," the RBS spokesperson says. A statement from Graphic Data says it had not planned to dispose of the computer and is investigating how it was removed from secure premises. News of the stolen computer comes after several other recent incidents regarding the security of sensitive consumer information. Monday brought reports of the theft of financial details from hotel chain Best Western International Inc. Last week, HBOS PLC chief executive Andy Hornby reportedly fell victim to identity theft after a fraudster stole his identity and used it to withdraw funds from his personal bank account (CardLine Global, 21 Aug.). Also last week, fraudsters in Ireland posed as point-of-sale terminal engineers and fooled merchants into letting them use terminals to make cloned cards (CardLine Global, 19 Aug.). UK payments association APACS says if cardholders become a victim of fraud on their bank accounts, they are guaranteed a refund by law. "What is required to defeat fraudsters is a joined-up approach amongst consumers, banks and law enforcement," an APACS spokesperson tells CardLine Global.
