Fergie's Tech Blog

Bank of America notifying customers after laptop theft

Robert McMillan writes in NetworkWorld:

Users of the Bank of America's Visa Buxx prepaid debit cards are being warned that they may have had sensitive information compromised following the theft of an unencrypted laptop computer.

In a letters sent to Buxx users and dated Sept. 23, the bank warned that customers may have had their bank account numbers, routing transit numbers, names and credit card numbers compromised by the theft. Visa Buxx is a prepaid credit card for teenagers that the Bank of America (BofA) stopped selling in January.

The laptop, which belonged to an unnamed Bank of America "service provider" was stolen on Aug. 29, said Diane Wagner, a BofA spokeswoman. The bank was notified of the theft on Sept. 9, and began sending out the letters after a two-week investigation, she said.

Though the information on the laptop would not have been easily accessible to thieves, it was not encrypted, Wagner said. The bank has been monitoring the affected accounts and has not yet observed any signs of fraud. "We have no evidence that an unauthorized person has accessed or even reviewed that customer information," she said.

posted by Fergie @ 10/07/2005 03:59:00 PM