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Insider data theft costs Bank of America $10m

Bank details for 300 purloined

A Bank of America insider who stole customers' personally identifiable information and gave it to identity thieves has cost the bank $10 million in losses, according to media reports.

The unnamed employee and some 95 others involved in the scam were arrested in February, IDG News reported, citing a special agent with the US Secret Service. The court cases have been sealed as the investigation continues.

The agent said the bank lost at least $10 million to the criminals.

Details of the case became public on Tuesday, when a The Los Angeles Times columnist relayed the story of one Bank of America customer who had about $20,000 siphoned out of various accounts by the scammers. The perpetrators contacted the man's phone company and had calls to his home forwarded to a mobile phone under their control. That prevented the customer from receiving calls from bank employees asking about suspicious transactions.

The scammers also ordered new checks for some of his accounts and arranged to have them delivered to a United Parcels Service outlet to prevent the man from learning of the unfolding fraud.

The scammers obtained names, addresses, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, bank account numbers, driver license numbers, birth dates, email addresses, mother's maiden names, PINs and account balances, the LA Times reported. It said about 300 customers were defrauded, although a bank spokeswoman refused to confirm that number to IDG News. ®

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