Banks notify more than 100,000 of theft

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: EEkid () aol com
Date: May 23, 2005 5:08:08 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
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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