Two of the UK's largest banks are expected to ask searching
questions of their security systems after two separate incidents
cast doubts over the safety of customers' accounts.
The first case affected customers at a branch of Lloyds TSB in
Swindon, as card fraudsters used debit card details to plunder
thousands of pounds from current accounts.
In one of the first examples of a UK bank confirming customer
account fraud, Lloyds TSB said fewer than 100 customers had been
affected and that those who had lost money had been reimbursed and
issued with new cards. The bank claimed that no other branches were
affected.
Lloyds TSB said it became aware of the problem after its fraud
department noticed anomalies in some current accounts, although the
bank would not divulge what the anomalies were nor how the money
was taken.
The second security scare came when Barclays mistakenly sent out
statements containing other people's account and credit card
details to 1,500 customers. The affected customers received the
wrong quarterly statements, which are sent out to some customers in
addition to their monthly statements.
The bank said it intended to issue letters of apology to all the
affected customers, but at the same time stressed that customers
were not at risk of losing money from their accounts as a result of
the error.
A spokeswoman from Barclays said, "We are currently investigating
the cause. In the meantime we will not be issuing any quarterly
statements until we find out what has been involved. No customers
would have lost any money as a result of this and no one could have
done anything with the information."
The incidents will do little to quell the fears of an already wary
public as to the adequacy of measures put in place by the major
banks to prevent credit card fraud, which is estimated to have cost
£350m last year.