In what may be the biggest leak of personal data to date, police are reporting that a whopping 676,000 bank customers have had their personal information stolen from Bank of America, Wachovia, Commerce Bancorp, and PNC Financial Services. B of A has already notified over 60,000 customers that their confidential data is at risk, and Wachovia has notified another 48,000. That means that either the remaining 568,000 are Commerce Bancorp and PNC Financial customers, or that Bank of America and Wachovia still have their work cut out for them.
An inside job according to police in Hackensack, New Jersey, the information was stolen by several bank employees, who then sold it to one Orazio Lembo, who ran an illegal collection business with dozens of clients, primarily other collection agencies and law firms. A detailed examination of Lembo’s computers revealed that high-placed employees would forward the information to him, which he would then sell to his clients.
He must have been making a pretty penny, as police say that he was paying as much as $10.00 per name to the bank employees who heisted the bank customer information for him. And, in fact, it is estimated that over the past four years Lembo made millions of dollars, and that his contacts at the bank each made tens of thousands of dollars.
All from selling confidential information of people just like you and me. In fact, given the magnitude of the breach, it could well include you and me.
Inexplicably, B of A’s stock is up .01 since the announcement.
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