[IP] Banks notify more than 100,000 of theft
Begin forwarded message:
From: EEkid@xxxxxxx
Date: May 23, 2005 5:08:08 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Banks notify more than 100,000 of theft
Banks notify more than 100,000 of theft
Customers' financial records stolen by employees
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - More than 100,000 customers of Wachovia Corp. and
Bank of America Corp. have been notified that their financial records
may have been stolen by bank employees and sold to collection agencies.
So far, Bank of America has alerted about 60,000 customers whose
names were included on computer disks discovered by police, bank
spokeswoman Alex Liftman said Monday.
"We are trying to communicate with our customers as promptly as
possible," she said. "So far, we have no evidence that any of our
customer information has been used for account fraud or identity theft."
Meanwhile, Wachovia said it has identified 48,000 current and former
account holders whose accounts may have been breached.
"The numbers have increased as we continue to receive additional
names from police," Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips said Monday.
The theft was exposed last month when police in Hackensack, N.J.,
charged nine people, including a business owner, a New Jersey state
worker and seven bank workers, in a plot to steal financial records
of thousands of bank customers.
Massive bank security breach uncovered
The bank employees accessed records for customers of Cherry Hill,
N.J.-based Commerce Bank, PNC Bank of Pittsburgh, Wachovia and Bank
of America, according to Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa.
Wachovia customers were given a toll-free number to call the bank
with any questions or concerns, she said. Both banks are providing
the affected customers with free credit reporting services.
Orazio Lembo Jr., 35, of Hackensack, made millions of dollars through
the scheme but spent most of it on a fast-paced lifestyle, Zisa has
said.
Authorities discovered the plot after they executed a search warrant
at Lembo's apartment in February as part of a separate investigation.
They seized 13 computers which contained details about the plan, Zisa
said.
Lembo received lists of people sought for debt collection and turned
that information over to the seven bank workers, who would compare
those names to their client lists. The bank workers were paid $10 for
each account they turned over to Lembo, Zisa said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7954620
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