Banks and identity theft; 'are they bovvered?' asks AM

6.58.30pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 12th Oct 2006

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has hit out at High Street banks and financial institutions over their apparent failure to take identity theft seriously.

Mr Black was reacting to the revelations contained within the latest edition of the Channel 4 'Dispatches' programme, which detailed an investigation into the lax security surrounding the call-centres in India used by many UK financial institutions. The report highlighted the fact that security in some of these call-centres is so poor that unscrupulous persons are able to offer 'unlimited' numbers of leads to buyers at £8.00 a lead.

"The level of detail on individuals provided included bank details, credit card details - including the security number on the back - and account status," said Mr. Black. "Any fraudster getting hold of this level and volume of information will have a field day."

"Financial Institutions have shifted their operations abroad on the grounds of cost, however it is beginning to look like the security of customers has been compromised in the process. They may say that individuals should take care of their personal details, and that is good advice. However, the doesn't absolve the institutions from doing something themselves. They cannot just walk away from their legal responsibility to keep our data safe through moving their operations off-shore."

"Last year there was £465m of fraud perpetrated through the theft of personal details. That is a tiny percentage of the profits the banks make. When confronted by figures like that, you have to ask 'are they bovvered'?"