Lloyds exposed nearly half a million customers' data in banking app glitch
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Izabelė Pukėnaitė
Lloyds Banking Group exposed the personal data of up to 447,936 customers during an IT glitch earlier this month. The glitch allowed users to see other customers' transactions, including account details and national insurance numbers, Britain's Treasury Committee said on Friday.
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Lloyds IT glitch let customers see others' transactions and personal details.
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Over 3,600 customers compensated for distress, though no money was stolen.
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An overnight patch on March 12th caused the breach across three banks.
The bank has paid £139,000 ($184,000) in compensation to 3,625 customers for distress and inconvenience, though no customers have suffered financial loss so far, according to a letter from Lloyds published by the committee.
According to a BBC report, the glitch occurred on March 12th and has caused some panic among those affected, as the bank’s clients saw payments and charges on their apps that belonged to other people.
"I genuinely thought someone had cloned my details – one transaction was by someone who bought a car. I thought they'd spent £8,000 of my money," said Asha, one of the affected customers who spoke to the BBC.
Lloyds said a software defect during an overnight update caused the breach, which affected customers at Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, with 114,182 people clicking on transactions that revealed other users' personal information.
Jasjyot Singh, chief executive of consumer relationships at Lloyds Banking Group, said the bank is asking customers who may have recorded, screenshotted, or shared information about other users to delete it.
“There is currently no evidence of misuse or malicious activity as a result of the incident through our fraud and cyber monitoring process,” he said, adding that the bank will “continue to monitor [potential fraud] closely.”
Britain's cross-party Treasury Committee had requested further explanation from Lloyds earlier this month regarding the cause of the glitch that occurred on March 12th.
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Lloyds must provide updates to the committee within one month and after six months.
Lloyds Banking Group says it serves 26 million customers, making it the UK’s largest provider of retail and commercial banking services.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of Britain's digital banking infrastructure, such as apps and websites, as lenders slash physical branch networks to cut costs and shift customers online.
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