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BBC News: UK's families put on fraud alert

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  LionSpirit 
#1 ·
Quote:
Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.

The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25m people.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said there was no evidence the data had gone to criminals - but urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".

The Conservatives described the incident as a "catastrophic" failure.

In an emergency statement to MPs, Mr Darling apologised for what he described as an "extremely serious failure on the part of HMRC to protect sensitive personal data entrusted to it in breach of its own guidelines".

MPs gasped as Mr Darling told them: "The missing information contains details of all Child Benefit recipients: records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families. "

The chancellor blamed mistakes by junior officials at HMRC, who he said had ignored security procedures when they sent information to the National Audit Office (NAO) for auditing.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm

Just a heads up.
 
#2 ·
Wow. I must admit though, that I think personal data is held differently here in general. All the time, I see this postcards, for example where you put in your credit card number and then post it back (not in an envelope). People pass their bank details on all the time on eBay. It's very different to me. I'd never give someone my bank account information.

Regardless, this could cause hassle for the families involved
 
#3 ·
"It is the latest and by far the most serious of a string of missing data incidents at HM Revenue and Customs."

And this is the government that wants to be in charge of I.D. cards which will have such sensitive info as iris scans and fingerprints?

Whatever you do, for the love of sanity, please don't vote Labour (again - what were the last voters thinking??)
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by LionSpirit View Post

Whatever you do, for the love of sanity, please don't vote Labour (again - what were the last voters thinking??)
Yes because the other options are so much better (please get the huge amount of sarcasm in that sentence).

I will vote for who I feel will best keep the country survivable and stable thank you very much. As much as I dislike a lot of what the current government has done. I think too many people overlook the stability this country has had over the last 10 years and that this is not just down to luck. Appreciate some of what you have and stop whining about it.

This whole losing a disc scare has been completely blown out of all proportion. It's not life threatening, or even life altering. The media is just being it's usual pathetic melodramatic self.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vheogl View Post

Yes because the other options are so much better (please get the huge amount of sarcasm in that sentence).

I will vote for who I feel will best keep the country survivable and stable thank you very much. As much as I dislike a lot of what the current government has done. I think too many people overlook the stability this country has had over the last 10 years and that this is not just down to luck. Appreciate some of what you have and stop whining about it.

This whole losing a disc scare has been completely blown out of all proportion. It's not life threatening, or even life altering. The media is just being it's usual pathetic melodramatic self.
Well yes, the other 'main' parties (aka the parties that the media doesn't ignore) aren't exactly brilliant choices, but there have been far too many other problems with Labour, and no doubt more to come if they're voted for again.

They've lied time and time again, they've avoided answering questions (now you may say so do other parties, BUT...)... they've started closing maternity wards and even whole hospitals and have brushed off safety concerns, they've allowed judges for years to give stupidly small tarrifs for rape and child molestation, they are currently able to arrest people without charge under the Terrorism Act for a certain perios then after that period, again without charge, they can put a person under 'House Arrest' for as long as they want, they want to extend the Terrorism Act so that they can lock people up with no time limit, they want to track people with I.D. cards, they're already stifling protests (especially protests against the government)... so they can basically accuse anyone who argues with them of some trumped-up 'Terrorism' offence (it's been done before to an old man who called Jack Straw a liar), and arrest them for as long as they want, and the I.D. cards will help them track people (as well as being a waste of money concerning terrorism as they've not prevented terrorism in any other country).

They've lost important information many times before, they've let dangerous criminals (including murderers and rapists) out of prison due to messing up details, and they want to ho0ld even MORE details on us on a central computer that, judging from their previous record, they'll also mess up.

All those things are just the tip of the iceberg.

Also, the losing of the discs is not life threatening in its usual sense, but it's certainly got a high potential to be life altering, and it was very dangerous not to even use Recorded Delivery (which is cheap enough for the government to afford). If someone unscrupulous got hold of those details, they could steal another person's identity with extreme ease (it's already rather easy), take all their state benefits, apply for jobs in their name, etc etc and make things extremely difficult for the other person.

And when did "terrorist" attacks on the U.K. start exactly? Oh that's right, after LABOUR and Bush tried to take over Iraq. And we're currenlt on SEVERE alert level.

Stable, my foot.

Frankly, voting Labour again is one of the stupidest things a person can do.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne_D View Post

'Better the devil you know.'
...unless you know how extreme that devil's actions are and that there are alternatives.
 
#9 ·
I don't feel attracted by any of the major parties; I would never vote conservative, Labour are almost as bad and Lib Dems a little better but will never get in anyway. What's the real alternative? My partner and his father spoil their ballots in protest but I'd prefer a more constructive step.
 
#11 ·
I personally support the Green party, they even have a vegan MEP, Caroline Lucas
They seem to be the only party that has a clear stance on abolishing vivisection for a start.

Unfortunately, I can see David Cameron winning the next General Election and the Tories getting back in power.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by LionSpirit View Post

Well yes, the other 'main' parties (aka the parties that the media doesn't ignore) aren't exactly brilliant choices, but there have been far too many other problems with Labour, and no doubt more to come if they're voted for again.
I think you'll find throughout history every government that's been in power has had 'problems'. No one is perfect and no government will ever be perfect. Even the green party in power would have serious problems, actually in fact i think the green party would probably be a million times worse for this country as a whole than labour or conservative. Not that they don't do what they do well, they're just not quite ready nor equipped for complete rule.

Quote:
They've lied time and time again, they've avoided answering questions (now you may say so do other parties, BUT...)... they've started closing maternity wards and even whole hospitals and have brushed off safety concerns, they've allowed judges for years to give stupidly small tarrifs for rape and child molestation, they are currently able to arrest people without charge under the Terrorism Act for a certain perios then after that period, again without charge, they can put a person under 'House Arrest' for as long as they want, they want to extend the Terrorism Act so that they can lock people up with no time limit, they want to track people with I.D. cards, they're already stifling protests (especially protests against the government)... so they can basically accuse anyone who argues with them of some trumped-up 'Terrorism' offence (it's been done before to an old man who called Jack Straw a liar), and arrest them for as long as they want, and the I.D. cards will help them track people (as well as being a waste of money concerning terrorism as they've not prevented terrorism in any other country).
I think you will find every party lies you're just less aware of the lies because they're not in the limelight all the time. It's the same as celebrity in a way, I like a lot of people, tell lies from time to time from the tiny little white lies to the slightly bigger, I rarely get caught because i'm not in the media spot light 24/7. If i was famous i'm sure every little lie i've ever told would come out. Just because you don't hear about them, don't assume lies aren't being told.

The terrorism saga, well i partly agree with you there. This government has taken it a little far but to be honest i think pretty much any government in their position would of done similar. I don't agree with them in any way shape or form. Same for identity cards, though from a tracking point of view i don't really think it would make it any easier. The government already has nearly all the information it could want on you anyway and tracking anyone is pretty simple these days anyway.

Maternity wards. Working for the NHS and having several close family members doing the same, all in areas you've mentioned, i can give you a little insight. I agree the NHS is in need of more capital and restructuring to a certain extent. I have serious issues with the way the NHS is run currently. It's more focused on finance rather than patient care the only obligation a trust has is to balance it's books at the end of the financial year nothing more, patient care doesn't really come into it. As for maternity services being cut, it depends how you look at it and in which area you focus. I live in an area where the maternity unit is semi frequently shut to admissions, this has however never been down to short staffing (which would be due to so called cuts) It's purely been down to increased demand. My local trust reached it's usual projected birth number in October a good 2 months before the end of the year which is unheard of. There's also increased demand throughout departments and i think to be honest however much money you throw at the NHS there will always be issues with it. But also i think you have to remember you are getting free treatment and having seen how much this actually costs in real terms you're getting a good deal.

Quote:
Also, the losing of the discs is not life threatening in its usual sense, but it's certainly got a high potential to be life altering, and it was very dangerous not to even use Recorded Delivery (which is cheap enough for the government to afford). If someone unscrupulous got hold of those details, they could steal another person's identity with extreme ease (it's already rather easy), take all their state benefits, apply for jobs in their name, etc etc and make things extremely difficult for the other person.
You do realise that probably hundreds if not thousands of people have access to your personal details and possibly your bank details too? Yes these people are employed to have access to this information but they still have access to it. It only takes one bored bad employee to cause you a lot of bother. I think people under estimate how easy it is for someone to take their identity even going through your recycle bin would probably enable a quick thinking individual to take your identity and a fair bit of money from you.

Quote:
And when did "terrorist" attacks on the U.K. start exactly? Oh that's right, after LABOUR and Bush tried to take over Iraq. And we're currenlt on SEVERE alert level.
I think terrorist attacks actually started in this country probably long before any of us were born. The IRA for one brought terrorism to the forefront in this country. And i'm sure there were other groups before them that caused trouble. Terrorism only works if you let it. I don't really blame labour, Tony Blair, or even the idiot troll that is Bush for terrorism, i blame religion and people who lack understanding, tolerance and basic ethics.

Quote:
Frankly, voting Labour again is one of the stupidest things a person can do.
Well i've always been one for doing stupid things. Though just for the record I usually vote green apart from last time around when the green candidate was pretty useless and unlikeable and i voted lib dem (the only other choice). I have yet to vote labour, however if the labour candidate in this area was someone i felt was better than the rest i would not hesitate to vote labour and if Tony Blair was still in power i'd hesitate even less, i actually quite like him.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon_Veggie View Post

I personally support the Green party, they even have a vegan MEP, Caroline Lucas
They seem to be the only party that has a clear stance on abolishing vivisection for a start.

Unfortunately, I can see David Cameron winning the next General Election and the Tories getting back in power.
I'll reply to the other posts when I'm feeling more awake, BUT one reason I won't support the Green Party is because they claimed, on their website, that road humps are not bad for ambulances - despite the fact anyone who drives over one knows they have to slow down or end up jolting the vehicle - either way, not good for try to put an injection in a patient or perform some emergency procedure. Seems the Greens care more about the environment than safety.
 
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