HSBC data loss and the Mysterious Phone Call

I had two interesting calls yesterday from foreign gentlemen. Their basic call went thus:

“Hello, is that Mr Rees?”    Hmm I replied.
“Hi, I’m Simon from LHR. Someone, either you or someone from your address has made an insurance claim from your address recently…”   “Who exactly are you?” I said.

He then repeated the first bit again.

At this point, I politely said I didn’t want to speak to them and put the phone down before they could answer. In retrospect, in light of the HSBC news today, I’d wished I’d carried on to find out as much as I could about them/him as I’m now sure they were phishing for more details of me and my house / family / circumstances etc

This is the today’s article on the BBC. You’ll see that the lost details are limited but specific – enough to find a person and wheedle more info out.  I’m pretty sure that someone has got a disc and is trying it on.

This whole thing, the moving of data on compact discs, stinks.  There’s no need for it.  One would have thought that the information, for organisations as big as the government HMRC or DVLA, Nationwide, Norwich Union and now HSBC, could send stuff as secure FTP or SSL at 256 bit encryption down those big fat fibre-optic pipes that they supposedly have.  If they haven’t then what the fuck are they spending the money on?

In light of this, the draconian loss in our freedom rights and the total incompetence of anyone in database security, I shall not be getting or partaking in any form of government or other organisation’s ID scheme and I advise everyone to do the same.

You may take away our homes, you may take away our insurance policies, you may take away our privacy; but you’ll never take away OUR FREEDOM!