Companies seem to make this mistake way too frequently. This little "Opps, we're sorry" act is getting old and tired.
I think its time to pass two laws:
1). Companies will be required to send a press release and post a notice on thier website, as well as mail a notice to all customers of record when they lose, misplace, misallocate or are aware that customer data has been compromised in any manner. The press release and notice on the website must be done within 48 hours, the mailing of the noitice done within 14 postal days. Failure to do so would result in a fine being levied against the companies equal to 5% of the companies annual revenue for the previous year for every day they failed to act beyond the deadline, with a cap of two years with of revenue. Proceeds from the fine would be deposited into an account that would be divided equally amongst everyone who files a tax return for that year, in the form of a refund.
2). Every time a company manages to pull one of these stunts, they should write each and every affected customer a check for $1,000.00 regardless of if the customer suffers any damage or not.
Chase puts credit card data in the trash
10 / 08 / 06 | By Reuters
Personal information on 2.6 million past and current Circuit City credit card holders was mistakenly thrown out as trash, a division of J.P. Morgan Chase has said.
Chase Card Services said on Thursday that it mistakenly tossed out computer tapes with the personal information of Circuit City card holders. It said it believes the tapes, inside a locked box, were compacted, destroyed and buried in a landfill.
"We deeply regret that this has occurred and apologize to those impacted," Chase Card Services Chief Executive Rich Srednicki said in a statement.
In the past year, several U.S. companies have reported lost or stolen personal data on customers and employees. One of the largest mishaps happened at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which said in May that data on 26.5 million veterans was stolen.
Chase said it has begun notifying customers and is monitoring affected accounts and has not identified any misuse of personal information. A free, one-year credit monitoring service is being offered to individuals whose social security number was on the thrown out tapes.
No other Chase accounts are involved in this incident, the bank said. Chase Card Services issues bank-branded and private-label credit cards for electronics retailer Circuit City.
"We certainly empathize with the affected cardholders, but this is a business that is administered by Chase," a Circuit City representative said.
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http://news.zdnet.com/2102-1009_22-6113738.html