Posted on 06/08/2005 2:22:59 PM PDT by softengine
The retail finance division of Citigroup has admitted that a backup tape containing personal information on almost 4 million customers has gone missing. The United Parcel Service lost the tape on May 2nd, and it hasn't been seen since. CitiFinancial only noticed the tape was missing on May 20. The tape contains Social Security numbers and transaction histories on both open and closed accounts at the bank’s lending branches.
Citigroup says it has no reason to believe the tape has been stolen, but alarmingly, the tape hasn't shown up at any UPS depot despite six weeks of searching.
The company admitted that it doesn't use encryption on its electronic transmissions, nor explained why it took so long to notify the public.
Earlier this year a backup tape belonging to Ameritrade went astray, with personal information on 200,000 customers; Time Warner lost a tape containing information on 600,000 individuals, and Bank of America and Wachovia suffered a data breach affecting 100,000 customers each in May.
Customers are advised to call 866-452-2484 ®
Oh good lord. At least BofA in CA had a critical fire in their "tech center" not long after the eruption of BCCI... Sheez. "Can't find the tape". I see.
Tell me about it.
UPS delivered a package to me that had been misaddressed. Guy I bought some stuff from on eBay put a label with my name on it by mistake.
I called UPS six times trying to get someone to take it back, and finally had to ship it to the guy on my own dime. By USPS.
I know that the mistake was his, but you think they would want his business enough to at least return it to him (and charge him again to ship it to the right person).
I hate UPS.
And if you buy something (like a restored vintage tube radio made of Bakelite) and it is destroyed during shipment, you can forget about trying to get a single dime from UPS even if you have insurance. They make it impossible.
You know that UPS stinks when the USPS looks great in comparison.
Compared to UPS, the Postal Service has excellent customer service and actually cares about my package.
I've never had a single problem with USPS Priority.
And I'm talking in the many hundreds.
There is absolutely no reason why they couldn't do the job themselves. In this day and age of bulletproof high speed networks. For a bank that has to "go on the cheap", says alot about Citibank.
I agree. I don't use UPS anymore, USPS priority Mail is great.
Folks check those credit card bills.
until they start having to payoff on class action lawsuits from people who have suffered identify theft, they could care less.
Tinfoil hat time. Are all these tied together?
This is how packages are tracked, once the driver scans the packages taken on or off his truck, the sender or recipient will see where the package is at via the UPS website. I use this all the time when I am sending or receiving items sold or bought on eBay.
" The company admitted that it doesn't use encryption on its electronic transmissions"
I admit to being fairly stunned by this tidbit. I work for a large bank and every system we touch has many layers of security.
But if the morons have naked backup tapes; well they should suffer painful physical torture.
Our local (KC news) said that one should get insurance to cover identify theft. I wonder if Citibank sells this type of insurance????
Earlier this year a backup tape belonging to Ameritrade went astray, with personal information on 200,000 customers; Time Warner lost a tape containing information on 600,000 individuals, and Bank of America and Wachovia suffered a data breach affecting 100,000 customers each in May.
Gee, I wonder if has anything to do with...I can't quite put my finger on it...Nah, couldn't be...ha ha hah!
BTW, I believe that B of A and Wachovia 100K number is the low guestimate: it's more like half a mil. ea.
I agree with you. After 9/11, UPS really upped the hoops (and prices) you had to jump through to get a package mailed, I checked with USPS to compare prices. USPS was actually lower and the service I've had has been great.
He who steals MY purse steals trash.
Thats true but data tapes are made for long term storage and are usually stored off site in a disaster proof building as to ensure the protection of the data. The tape backup is usually a backup of the backup.
Neither have I. Since I switched over from UPS, I've been overwhelmed by how much more professional the Postal Service is. Their counters still need some work, but they move packages 100x better than UPS.
It amazes me that the governmental organization so outshines the private one. But the exception proves the rule, no?
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