BBC NEWS | Politics | UK's families put on fraud alert

oh my days

wtf is going on. they want to find this disc
......................

UK's families put on fraud alert
The chancellor urged people to monitor their bank accounts
Alistair Darling
Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.
The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said there was no evidence the data had gone to criminals - but urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".

The Conservatives described the incident as a "catastrophic" failure.


CHILD BENEFIT HELPLINE
0845 302 1444

In an emergency statement to MPs, Mr Darling apologised for what he described as an "extremely serious failure on the part of HMRC to protect sensitive personal data entrusted to it in breach of its own guidelines".

MPs gasped as Mr Darling told them: "The missing information contains details of all Child Benefit recipients: records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families. "


The police are not aware of any evidence that it has been used for fraudulent purposes or criminal activity
Alistair Darling
Chancellor


The chancellor blamed mistakes by junior officials at HMRC, who he said had ignored security procedures when they sent information to the National Audit Office (NAO) for auditing.

Mr Darling told MPs: "Two password protected discs containing a full copy of HMRC's entire data in relation to the payment of child benefit was sent to the NAO, by HMRC's internal post system operated by the courier TNT.

The package was not recorded or registered. It appears the data has failed to reach the addressee in the NAO."

He added: "The police tell me that they have no reason to believe that this data has found its way into the wrong hands.

"The police are not aware of any evidence that it has been used for fraudulent purposes or criminal activity."

Fraud protection

The HMRC has set up a Child Benefit Helpline on 0845 302 1444 for customers who want more details.

The data was sent on 18 October and senior management at HMRC were told it was missing on 8 November and the chancellor on 10 November.


MISSING DATA INCLUDES...
National insurance number
Name, address and birth date
Partner's details
Names, sex and age of children
Bank/savings account details

Mr Darling said banks were adamant that they wanted as much time to prepare for his announcement as possible.

He added: "If someone is the innocent victim of fraud as a result of this incident, people can be assured they have protection under the Banking Code so they will not suffer any financial loss as a result."

Mr Darling said people should monitor their accounts "for any unusual activity".

Chairman resigns

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the disappearance of the two discs and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which monitors HMRC, is investigating the security breach.

Uniformed officers were earlier checking HMRC's offices in Washington, Tyne and Wear.

It is the latest and by far the most serious of a string of missing data incidents at HM Revenue and Customs.


WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Check your bank statements for odd transactions
Monitor your account if you bank online
Change your account password if it is a date of birth or name
Source: Apacs


HMRC chairman Paul Gray resigned earlier after the latest incident came to light.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "Let us be clear about the scale of this catastrophic mistake - the names, the addresses and the dates of birth of every child in the country are sitting on two computer discs that are apparently lost in the post, and the bank account details and National Insurance numbers of 10 million parents, guardians and carers have gone missing.

"Half the country will be very anxious about the safety of their family and the security and the whole country will be wondering how on earth the government allowed this to happen."

'Ancient' computers

He urged the government to "get a grip" and said it was the "final blow for the ambitions of this government to create a national ID database" as "they simply can not be trusted with people's personal information".

Liberal Democrat Acting Leader Vince Cable said it was now the Treasury and not the Home Office that was "not fit for purpose".


CHILD BENEFIT
Available to the parents, normally mother, of every child in UK under 16
Older children in full-time education still eligible
Taken up by almost 100%
It amounts to £18.10 a week for a first-born child
For subsequent children - it amounts to £12.10 a week


"Why does HMRC still use CDs for data transmission in this day and age? The ancient museum pieces it is currently using for computing must be replaced.

"After this disaster how can the public possibly have confidence in the vast centralised databases needed for the compulsory ID card scheme.

"Where does the buck stop after this catalogue of disasters?"

Giving his reaction, the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, said: "This is an extremely serious and disturbing security breach."

Mr Thomas welcomed the Chancellor's announcement of an independent review of the incident by Kieran Poynter of PricewaterhouseCoopers and said he would decide on further action once he has received the report.

"Searching questions need to be answered about systems, procedures and human error inside both HMRC and NAO," said Mr Thomas.

The prime minister's official spokeswoman said Gordon Brown has "full confidence" in Mr Darling. She added that Mr Darling has not offered to resign.

Great just Great.......that all we need now, pillocks!!!

here is there q&a link BBC NEWS | Politics | Q&A: Child benefit records lost


Q&A: Child benefit records lost

How worried should people be by the loss of discs containing child benefit recipients' personal details?
What has happened?
HM Revenue and Customs has lost computer discs containing the entire child benefit records, including the personal details of 25 million people - covering 7.25 million families overall. The two discs contain the names, addresses, dates of birth and bank account details of people who received child benefit. They also include National Insurance numbers.

How were the discs lost?
They were sent in normal internal mail from HMRC to the National Audit Office on 18 October, by someone at a low level, and never arrived, Mr Darling said. That broke data protection laws and is the reason Revenue and Customs chairman Paul Gray has resigned.
How worried should people be?
The details on the lost discs would be sought-after by fraudsters. Mr Darling said the Metropolitan Police were investigating but it is not known what has happened to the discs. Searches continue. Mr Darling says the information was password protected, but that was not good enough. He said there was no suggestion that anything untoward had happened as a result of the discs' loss to date. Experts say such data should normally be sent in encrypted form. Analysis: How worried should we be?


How could the information be misused?
Banks say the information on its own would not be enough to allow someone access to your bank account, as other security information and passwords should be required. But the details would be enough for criminals to use in other types of fraud, such as setting up credit or financial agreements like mobile phone accounts. There may also be child protection concerns, as the discs contained names, addresses and dates of birth of children.

What are people advised to do?

• Mr Darling said people should check their bank accounts for any "irregular activity"
• He said there was no need for people to close accounts as the details would not be sufficient to allow fraudsters to access them
• But people should not give out personal or account details "requested unexpectedly" by phone or by email
• Banking industry body Apacs advised people who bank online to monitor accounts and change passwords if they are a child's name or date of birth
• Contact your bank immediately, but only if you spot something suspicious as banks are expecting to be overwhelmed with calls
• Banks also warn customers to be on the lookout for signs of ID theft and fraud - such as regular post like bank statements going missing, bills for items you have not bought, or letters approving or denying you credit you know nothing about

Is my money safe?
Mr Darling said there was no evidence of fraud or that the details had fallen into the "wrong hands", but said that anyone who loses money as a result of fraud resulting from the lost discs would be reimbursed. But he said there was no need for anyone to close their bank accounts.
How can I find out more? Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has set up a Child Benefit Helpline on 0845 302 1444 for customers who want more details.

The above LD is total bollock from the Government..If someone has your NI number they can work in your name and get services from the public fund with virtually anonymity, Further with the drtails they let slip fraudsters can get a passport and probably loans out in other peoples name.. Not to mention access bank details if the person ha telephone banking...

I cannot believe that this Government allowed data of that sensitivity to be put in the bloody post, are they friggin MAD, STUPID or Wah!!?

Darling announces loss of 25m personal records

By Jon Smith, PA

Published: 20 November 2007


Computer discs holding personal data on 25 million people and 7.2 million families have gone missing, Chancellor Alistair Darling admitted to MPs today.


He said the details included names, addresses, dates of birth, Child Benefit numbers, National Insurance numbers and bank or building society account details.


Paul Gray, chairman of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which lost the discs, resigned over the affair today.


The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating the loss of the password-protected discs which were wrongly sent last month to the National Audit Office (NAO) but never arrived.


Mr Darling said police had no evidence the information "has found its way into the wrong hands" or of any evidence that it has been sued for fraud.
He has appointed Kieran Poynter, chairman of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, to investigate HMRC security procedures.


The Prime Minister has "full confidence" in Mr Darling despite the benefits records blunder, Gordon Brown's spokeswoman said. She added that Mr Darling has not offered to resign.

Lost in the post: the personal details of 25 million people

Who decided to post two discs with personal and financial details of 25 million people by unregistered delivery?

What has become of the missing discs and could they have fallen into the hands of fraudsters?

Why did the Government wait 10 days before telling the public what had happened?

Where will the buck stop after the revenue chief's resignation?

When can the British people be sure once again that their money is safe in their bank accounts?

By Colin Brown and Ben Russell

Published: 21 November 2007


Seven million families are having to make urgent checks on their bank accounts today after the biggest security blunder in history led to the personal details of 25 million fathers, mothers and children being lost by the Whitehall department responsible for all tax and benefits.

The head of HM Revenue and Customs, Paul Gray – one of the country's most highly paid civil servants – resigned his £198,000-a-year post as the scale of the fiasco became clear.

But the Prime Minister and his embattled Chancellor, Alistair Darling, were counting the cost to their own reputations last night as the disaster left them looking accident-prone and open to opposition charges of incompetence.
The news that a package containing the personal details of every family in Britain with a child under 16 had gone missing in the post was greeted with astonishment and anger when it was revealed to MPs by the Chancellor.
It could not have come at a worse time for Mr Darling, who just 24 hours earlier had come under sustained attack from the opposition after admitting that taxpayers' money could be at risk in the £24bn rescue of Northern Rock.
Damaging as that crisis has been for the Government, the political fallout from the loss of millions of families' personal data could prove even more far-reaching. Gleeful Tories, urging the Chancellor in the starkest of language to "get a grip", were comparing it to John Major's hapless last days in power.
There was an audible intake of breath in the Commons as Mr Darling told MPs that two discs containing the details of all child benefit recipients, records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families, had been lost.
The records included the recipient's name and those of their children, their addresses and dates of birth, child benefit numbers, national insurance numbers and, where relevant, bank or building society account details – all the facts that fraudsters need to illegally remove money from banks.
They are the details that families are regularly being warned by the Government not to reveal to potential fraudsters. And they would be worth a fortune on the black market.

A junior official from HM Revenue and Customs had sent the discs to the National Audit Office at the NAO's request on 18 October by the HMRC's internal post, run by the courier firm TNT, even though it was in clear breach of the department's rules governing the release of such sensitive information and may have been in breach of data protection regulations.

The NAO, realising it had not received the data, ordered a further copy to be sent by HMRC. This time it was sent by registered post and did arrive.
It was only on 8 November, almost three weeks after the first discs were posted, that senior HMRC officials were told they were missing. They informed the Chancellor on 10 November, a Saturday. Hardly believing his ears, the Chancellor ordered "comprehensive searches to be carried out of all premises where the missing data might be found". He decided that the breach of security was so grave that he had to tell the Prime Minister immediately.

On 12 November, Mr Gray told Mr Darling that evidence might have been found of the route taken by the data and that the discs were likely to be recovered. However, two days later, those hopes were dashed when the HMRC chairman admitted that the internal searches had failed to trace the discs. The Chancellor ordered Mr Gray immediately to call in the Metropolitan Police to conduct a full investigation to find the missing package.

That inquiry was still under way yesterday. The police say they are confident no crime was involved.

Mr Darling told the Commons: "Our priority is to find this data. Searches continue to be carried out, including of the HMRC and NAO premises. Staff are being interviewed but so far the missing data has not been found."

It is not the first time that data has gone missing from the HMRC. The Information Commissioner was already investigating two earlier breaches by the department. In September, an HMRC employee reported that his laptop had been stolen from his car. The laptop contained customer details from about 15 financial institutions. The information was encrypted but the computer bag contained print-outs of some individuals' data.

And in October, the HMRC sent a CD via courier to Standard Life but the disc was lost en route. The CD was not encrypted and contained details of 15,000 Standard Life customers, including names and national insurance numbers.
For 10 days, the Government has been sitting on the news, knowing that when it came out there would be outrage mixed with deep anxiety. Last week, major clearing banks were secretly warned by the Government that there was a potential security breach. They were asked to make sure there had been no sudden surge in raids on personal bank accounts, evidence that the nightmare scenario – the discs falling into the hands of organised crime syndicates – had happened. On Monday, the Chancellor was told by the banks that they had found no trace of accounts being raided. That was the assurance he needed before a public announcement could be made.

George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, urged Mr Darling to take control of the crisis. "Never mind the lack of vision; just get a grip," he said. "Let us be clear about the scale of this catastrophic mistake – half the country will be very anxious about the safety of their family and the security, and the whole country will be wondering how on earth the Government allowed this to happen."

Fall from grace of a dependable civil servant

Bearded and bespectacled, sober and sensible, Paul Gray was known throughout the Civil Service as trustworthy and dependable. But that reputation was dealt a huge blow when he was held responsible for the biggest blunder in British data protection history. Although many MPs believe he has been made the "fall guy" for the incompetence of others, there was little doubt that the head of the chairman of HM Revenue and Customs would have to be the first to roll. Mr Gray, 59, who is married with two sons, was one of the 300 highest-paid civil servants, earning £198,000 a year. It is likely he will keep his pension but the Cabinet Office said yesterday he would not receive a special resignation package. Mr Gray joined the Treasury in 1969 and rose steadily through the ranks to become the economic affairs private secretary to the Conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. When she quit in 1990, he returned to the Treasury to work on monetary policy. He then became head of personnel and central services. In 1998, Mr Gray joined the Department of Social Security as head of policy, before becoming second permanent secretary for pensions and disability in the Department for Work and Pensions. He oversaw the merger of the former DSS, the Employment Service and parts of the Department for Education and Employment, which made him the ideal choice to head the merged Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise departments when the HMRC was established by Gordon Brown in 2004.

Mr Gray, a Leicester City football fan, keeps a small flock of Wensleydale sheep. He will now have a lot more time to tend them.

Colin Brown

Not like them to slip up so easily in this age of propsed ID cards, apparent terror threats and national security issues.

I remain suspisious.

[quote=Melissa;1447873][color="DarkOrange"][b]Has anyone got an apology letter?

Got mine today....a "personal" letter from Dave Hartnett, Acting Chairman.

Says the usual, we are protected, blah de blah. I binned it.