Barclays, along with the UK banking regulators, has started an investigation related to alleged theft of personal information of 27,000 customers, according to a report by The Mail on 9 February 2014.
According to the report, the leaked data including customer’s earnings, health and passport details, were sold to city brokers, and that the information was provided by a whistleblower.
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Barclays said that the threat appeared to be criminal and the bank will co-operate with the authorities on pursuing the perpetrator.
"Our initial investigations suggest this is isolated to customers linked to our Barclays Financial Planning business, which we ceased operating as a service in 2011," Barclays added.
If found guilty, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can impose fines of around £500,000, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can impose unlimited fines on Barclays.
The FCA said consumers rightly presume their data is safe with their bank, and this should serve to remind all firms how important it is they have the correct procedures in place to ensure data is secure and used appropriately.
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By GlobalData"We will continue to investigate the issue with Barclays over the coming days," FCA added.
