14 DAY TRIAL // 27-year-old Jennifer Addo, a former employee of Barclays Bank, has been fined £3,360 ($5,400 / €4,000) after illegally accessing customer information.
Addo accessed an account to learn the number of children the customer had. She then passed on the information to a friend of hers who at the time was the customer’s partner.
The bank was notified of the breach by the customer who learned that information from his account was handed out to his partner. An investigation by Barclays revealed that Addo accessed the customer’s bank account 22 times between May 10, 2011 and August 8, 2011.
Barclays prohibits employees from accessing customer information unless it’s necessary. Addo said she was aware of the rules but decided to do it anyway.
“The banking industry has rigorous procedures and safeguards in place to make sure customers’ details are kept secure. However banks rely on the honesty and professionalism of their staff to ensure that the privileged access given to their records is not abused for personal gain,” said ICO Head of Enforcement Stephen Eckersley.
“Jennifer Addo knew she was breaking the law by inappropriately accessing the complainants’ details and passing information to a third party but still decided to act. She is now facing the consequences of her actions.”
This is the second case of a Barclays employee fined for illegally accessing customer data. The ICO is highlighting these crimes because the agency believes tougher punishments, including prison sentences, should be handed out to those who commit them.
“This case proves, yet again, why we need a more appropriate penalty for the crime of personal data theft,” Eckersley explained.
“With the law as it stands, this prosecution isn’t even recorded on the police national computer which means that an offender could apply for a job in a high street bank tomorrow and the potential employer wouldn’t be informed about the offence. The current ‘fine only’ regime is clearly not deterring people from breaking the law.”