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View Full Version : 15 million peoples personal data missing



angela5
20-Nov-07, 14:35
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm


What a joke, why bother shredding your bills and making sure you cover your pin at a cash machine when the government just gives all you details away on your behalf:eek:

xx_chickie
20-Nov-07, 14:38
Exactly, it's ridiculous, and very hypocrytical of the government to spend money on such privacy awareness campaigns and adverts!

brew
20-Nov-07, 14:49
Thats why Paul Gray resignation was accepted because the discs had been transported in breach of rules governing data protection. He puts in his notice and they dont need to sack him, bet he will still get some big pay off also.

angela5
20-Nov-07, 15:02
How can they say they don't think the discs have fallen into the wrong hands when they don't even know where they are.:confused

unicorn
20-Nov-07, 15:06
If this is one of the things we hear about, can you imagine what goes on that we don't hear about :eek:

brew
20-Nov-07, 15:07
Prob cause the MP's were told 9 -10 days ago and they (HM Revenue and Customs) new i would guess a few days before this, If no one has come forwared looking to blackmail or saying that they are going to put the details on the open market then they are "Guessing" it's lost and sitting in the gutter somewhere or someone has found it and not sure what to do with it

angela5
20-Nov-07, 15:10
If no one has come forwared looking to blackmail or saying that they are going to put the details on the open market then they are "Guessing" it's lost and sitting in the gutter somewhere or someone has found it and not sure what to do with it

Even if no-one has come forward with black-mail it doesn't mean it's not in the wrong hands. It could have been sold to fraudsters who are now working on getting their mitts on everyones money.

Solus
20-Nov-07, 15:38
There might not be any direct threat to bank accounts and such but this is ideal for identity theft, name, address and national insurance numbers , ideal info !!

Shabbychic
20-Nov-07, 16:21
This is why I am against Identity Cards. I don't object to the idea in principle, but they want to put far too much personal information on them, and I don't trust the powers that be one iota in keeping these details safe and secure.

angela5
20-Nov-07, 16:33
There might not be any direct threat to bank accounts and such but this is ideal for identity theft, name, address and national insurance numbers , ideal info !!

Isn't bank account details stored aswell.:confused

johno
20-Nov-07, 17:06
Yes the country is run by imbeciles, and we,ve only got ourselve,s to blame. We voted them in there. :eek: [lol]

alanatkie
20-Nov-07, 19:07
Just heard on North Tonight that these disks were posted by unregistered mail - why would they send something so important unregistered?!!!

unicorn
20-Nov-07, 19:16
duh :lol: cos they have been checking postage charges on ebay :lol:

changilass
20-Nov-07, 19:22
If they knew about it 10 days ago I think it stinks that the public wern't notified aobut it till now. Would they now be paying out to all the folks whos money had gone out of their accounts had it fallen into the wrong hands.

We don't get family allowance at the moment so not sure of the system, do you have to have it paid into a bank account or can you still get it from the post office from the wee book thingies.

alanatkie
20-Nov-07, 19:24
They have tried to get everyone to get it paid in to the bank - i know that mine is. I'm not sure if their is still people that have the allowance book tho.

unicorn
20-Nov-07, 19:26
mostly bank I think, I am lucky I guess as I set up a seperate bank account that only family allowance goes into, no other transactions in it at all so not too worried.

lazytown
20-Nov-07, 19:41
Just heard on North Tonight that these disks were posted by unregistered mail - why would they send something so important unregistered?!!!

Because it was sent in the HMRC's internal post system operated by the courier TNT and not by Royal Mail.

Valerie Campbell
20-Nov-07, 19:42
mostly bank I think, I am lucky I guess as I set up a seperate bank account that only family allowance goes into, no other transactions in it at all so not too worried.

Think we should all maybe follow your lead. Well done you. Wish I'd done this.

Stargazer
20-Nov-07, 23:00
Hands up everybody that wanted Identity Cards and have nothing to hide.

Mik.M.
20-Nov-07, 23:08
Think it is rediculous that thie information wasn't sent recorded or registered. Most of the TNT drivers in London are agency workers so this info could be anywhere. Like some of you I have an account just for my child benifit payments which has no overdraft facility. It is worrying in this day and age that this can happen.

Tristan
20-Nov-07, 23:19
What is really scary is they still want us to trust them with their proposed and identity cards!

Jeemag_USA
21-Nov-07, 01:28
I think ID cards are very important, I think the thing holding them back are peoples paranoia and fear of a big brother situation. Don't get me wrong, the last thing i want is to be totally useless and totally in control of someone else. But ID cards have so many good uses I feel it far outweighs then paranois about them. In the USA I have to have a State ID, and I also have a drivers licence and the two look very similar. The most common form of identity theft in the USA is through your Social Security number (SSN), which is equivalent to your national insurance number in the UK, it is not required to put this number on your ID, the only things on my ID are my photograph (most important, makes it difficult for anyone else to use it especially if they don't have a buckled brew like mine), my name, current address, DOB, height, weight, hair and eye color and sex. Nothing else. It means when your nineteen and go into a store for a pack of cigarettes ( in know its sixteen in the UK, I am a chookter from Thirsa) you can get them because you can prove who you are, and if your 21 and need a drink you can get one because you can prove it. The only difference with your drivers licence here is it has your drivers licence number on it. I remember when I was 23 going into the wine lodge and getting refused alcohol because I had no proof of age, it was highly embarassing because I was trying to buy a bottle of peach schnapps and a bottle of baileys for my bosses wife who was an old lady, if I had ID I could have left the shop without embarassment. ID's are a great thing, and highly beneficial to the owner, also it allows businesses to steer clear of the law because iof you don't have one then there is no argument. And also if you are involved in an accident people can find out who you are straight away. The only other thing on my ID and drivers licence is a small loveheart which shows emergency services my heart and other organs can be used to save someone elses life. Whats the big deal about not wanting ID's? Scaredy cats?

Geo
21-Nov-07, 01:33
If the information has fallen into the wrong hands, I'm not too bothered. When they see my bank balance they will probably deposit some money in there in sympathy! :)

rockchick
21-Nov-07, 10:00
I think ID cards are very important, I think the thing holding them back are peoples paranoia and fear of a big brother situation. Don't get me wrong, the last thing i want is to be totally useless and totally in control of someone else. But ID cards have so many good uses I feel it far outweighs then paranois about them. In the USA I have to have a State ID, and I also have a drivers licence and the two look very similar. The most common form of identity theft in the USA is through your Social Security number (SSN), which is equivalent to your national insurance number in the UK, it is not required to put this number on your ID, the only things on my ID are my photograph (most important, makes it difficult for anyone else to use it especially if they don't have a buckled brew like mine), my name, current address, DOB, height, weight, hair and eye color and sex. Nothing else. It means when your nineteen and go into a store for a pack of cigarettes ( in know its sixteen in the UK, I am a chookter from Thirsa) you can get them because you can prove who you are, and if your 21 and need a drink you can get one because you can prove it. The only difference with your drivers licence here is it has your drivers licence number on it. I remember when I was 23 going into the wine lodge and getting refused alcohol because I had no proof of age, it was highly embarassing because I was trying to buy a bottle of peach schnapps and a bottle of baileys for my bosses wife who was an old lady, if I had ID I could have left the shop without embarassment. ID's are a great thing, and highly beneficial to the owner, also it allows businesses to steer clear of the law because iof you don't have one then there is no argument. And also if you are involved in an accident people can find out who you are straight away. The only other thing on my ID and drivers licence is a small loveheart which shows emergency services my heart and other organs can be used to save someone elses life. Whats the big deal about not wanting ID's? Scaredy cats?

If that's all that was going to be on UK ID cards I wouldn't have a problem with it. My understanding is that we're going to have biometric data and fingerprints on there as well, and I don't agree with that.

fred
21-Nov-07, 11:20
If that's all that was going to be on UK ID cards I wouldn't have a problem with it. My understanding is that we're going to have biometric data and fingerprints on there as well, and I don't agree with that.

Not only that, they will have a number linked to a database containing all the information about you from the day you were born, education and social services reports from when we were children, medical records, social security, inland revenue, everything.

The possibilities for abuse are staggering.

Rheghead
21-Nov-07, 11:51
The funny thing is, if you accept that humans do make mistakes and that no one is immune from making a mistake then it seems logical that all political parties are not immune from these incidents. Yes it is very worrying, but there are no grounds for making any political capital out of it.

changilass
21-Nov-07, 13:17
They are saying this happened about 5 weeks ago, its the fact that we are only just being told about it that I don't like.

alanatkie
21-Nov-07, 13:27
They did say that the government only found out about it on Friday - don't know how likly that is tho?!!!

brokencross
21-Nov-07, 13:37
60th wedding anniversary or not, I think the Queen should resign over this, after all it is Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the buck should stop at the top.

grandma
21-Nov-07, 15:52
Think it is rediculous that thie information wasn't sent recorded or registered. Most of the TNT drivers in London are agency workers so this info could be anywhere. Like some of you I have an account just for my child benifit payments which has no overdraft facility. It is worrying in this day and age that this can happen.
Any time I've dealt with TNT, they have their own system for tracking any letters or parcels sent by them. Think it's more a case of HM R & C losing it. My child benefit is paid into Post Office account especially for it - glad I did my bit to keep local post offices open.

Stargazer
21-Nov-07, 22:58
Any time I've dealt with TNT, they have their own system for tracking any letters or parcels sent by them. Think it's more a case of HM R & C losing it. My child benefit is paid into Post Office account especially for it - glad I did my bit to keep local post offices open.

Its unlikely criminals could access your account, its far more likely the information would be used to set up fraudulent accounts in your - or you childrens - name. A lot more worrying. Why bother about a few hundred quid in a bank account when they could set up a £multithousand loan for you to pay off.
One pundit on the news yesterday suggested the government should allow free access to the credit agencies so individual can check that nobody is setting up accounts with your details.

Jeemag_USA
21-Nov-07, 23:54
Not only that, they will have a number linked to a database containing all the information about you from the day you were born, education and social services reports from when we were children, medical records, social security, inland revenue, everything.

The possibilities for abuse are staggering.

People can already get all that info from your national insurance number Fred, everybody is on file already, nobody needs a linked number to find out about you if they work for the right authorites.

Mister Squiggle
22-Nov-07, 10:47
My guess is that those discs are in the same "household twighlight zone" that takes only one of every pair of socks you put in the washing machine, that swallows the one vital piece of every jigsaw puzzle that you have in the cupboard and devours the spare batteries you swore you bought for the torch but can never find just as the power goes out ...
My suggestion is that if HM Customs and Revenue have a lint filter, or a sofa which they can check down the back of, or a large cupboard under the stairs where all the shoes and coats get thrown and the cat likes to hide in, they have a wee fossick in there. Bound to turn up.

NickInTheNorth
22-Nov-07, 10:56
If that's all that was going to be on UK ID cards I wouldn't have a problem with it. My understanding is that we're going to have biometric data and fingerprints on there as well, and I don't agree with that.

Just interested as to what your objection to biometric data is rockchick?

To my mind anything that can prove that I am who I say I am would be no bad thing...

fred
22-Nov-07, 12:09
People can already get all that info from your national insurance number Fred, everybody is on file already, nobody needs a linked number to find out about you if they work for the right authorites.

No, that information is in a lot of files and different government departments do not have access to each other's files. Each department would be breaking the law if they released information about you to another department without a warrant.

The right to privacy is seen as a fundamental human right under both European law and the American Constitution, identity cards will put that right at risk.

fred
22-Nov-07, 12:19
To my mind anything that can prove that I am who I say I am would be no bad thing...

Why? Arn't you sure?

bekisman
22-Nov-07, 12:26
Quote from the Home Office:
"The exact format of an ID card isn’t yet decided but it’s likely that it will be a credit card-sized plastic card featuring the holder’s photograph and a computer chip storing basic personal information."

johno
22-Nov-07, 12:35
60th wedding anniversary or not, I think the Queen should resign over this, after all it is Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the buck should stop at the top.
Would you resign from a job with all those benefits & allowances. I dont think so. Guess she knows what side her bread,s buttered on.
And she can still look down her nose at us commoners. [disgust]

Moby
13-Dec-07, 13:53
Received my letter about a month ago and have been keeping a close eye on bank accounts etc. Didn't really think much about it until last night when I got a phone call from HM R&C. My identity has been hijacked and my husband now has a new wife (albeit with a diffent name and address). Have tried all morning to rectify it but no one will speak to me because I can't answer their security questions based on this other woman.

Just a warning to everyone out there - check your Child Benefit, National Insurance details and Child Tax Credits for goodness sake and keep as much paper as you can so you can prove you are who you say you are!!![mad]

EWOK
13-Dec-07, 14:19
I thought they had found the disc.:confused

angela5
13-Dec-07, 14:23
I thought they had found the disc.:confused

Going by Moby's post it seems it has been found.

Valerie Campbell
13-Dec-07, 20:18
It has gone very quiet re the disks. Have they found them yet? Or are they still lost and they don't want to tell us that some people's id has indeed been hijacked like Moby's? M, hope you get your id back!