+ - UK's families put on fraud alert - ooooops
Submitted
by
Bigos
Bigos writes "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm
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"."
