Is your personal data safe in the UK?
The recent revelation that Zürich Insurance lost the details of over 50,000 UK customers during transit is starting to have an impact on UK consumers. Despite the fact that larger data losses have been reported over the last few years, it seems that this may well be the "straw which broke the camel's back" and see more and more UK consumers look at protection issues.
Obviously the main problem when personal data, which may include bank details, addresses, telephone numbers, etc, goes missing is identification theft. This is an issue which has been ongoing and building for many years but one which many in the UK, and around the world, have ignored on the whole. However, while there is no evidence that the Zürich Insurance data has been used for criminal purposes it has planted the seed of thought in the minds of many.
Not only do we need to be aware of the personal data held by companies in the UK and around the world, but we also need to be aware of how we protect our own computers, correspondence and other personal data at home. There are many ways for the ID theft criminal gangs to obtain personal details about anybody in the UK, but the harder we make this the more chance they will move on to pastures new.
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