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Britain
UK tax records 'sold to junk mail firms'
2010-05-02
Of course the government should document the intimate details of our lives. What could go wrong?
Experts fear that HM Revenue & Customs has been hit by another security breach, less than three years after it lost the details of 25 million taxpayers.

Demands for an investigation come after a woman from Bedfordshire received direct mail using an incorrect surname that only appeared on an HMRC database.

One owner of a database firm, who did not want to be named, told The Sunday Telegraph: "It looks like someone has sold on the database belonging to the Government agency ."

Susan Jones, who lives in Bedford with her husband, Derek, began to receive letters from HMRC addressed to "Susan Margaret Margaret".

Within weeks, Direct Line insurance, Churchill Home Insurance, Sun Life Direct funeral care and Sky television had all written to her using the same incorrect details. So too had Macmillan cancer support, the Salvation Army, and the Dogs Trust.

There is no suggestion that any of these organisations acted improperly: they bought the details through apparently reputable companies.

Inquiries by The Sunday Telegraph have established that HMRC installed a new computer system a month before Mrs Jones, 59, began to receive the junk mail.

Enquiries by this newspaper established that the databases containing information on "Mrs S. Margaret" were supplied to at least three of the seven companies and charities by a company based in London. Since it is not known how it obtained the information, this newspaper has chosen not to identify the firm.

An HMRC spokesman said: "HMRC takes data security extremely seriously, and has comprehensive procedures and checks in place to protect customer data. We are bound by strict rules of confidentiality which prohibit the department from selling on customer details.

"While we cannot comment on individual taxpayers, we'll be happy to consider further correspondence on this matter, and will respond in due course."
"That is to say, we will think about corresponding. About actually doing something we will not even so much as think."
A spokesman for the Information Commissioner said yesterday: "In the light of this information, we will be seeking to clarify what has happened with HMRC next week."
Posted by:lotp

#2  Or hacked in. Or one of the contractor personnel made off with a copy of the files. Or someone in the govt sold the info.
Posted by: lotp   2010-05-02 09:43  

#1  "HMRC installed a new computer system a month before Mrs Jones, 59, began to receive the junk mail"

So, someone salvaged out the old system without wiping the hard drives?
Posted by: tipover   2010-05-02 01:06  

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