A bank access code from Wells Fargo was used to take the personal information of 5,000 consumers. The Wells Fargo data breach caused the bank to conduct a full-scale inquiry. What more do we know?
MicroBilt Notification
The online consumer and commercial credit bureau information provider, Microbilt, notified that there is a Wells Fargo data breach on July 1, 2008.
The report states that someone had used a Wells Fargo access code to collect data on 7,000 customers from its computers.
Moreover, Microbilt says that they are unable to comment on any details of the case. Hence, the investigation is ongoing.
Mary Berg, a Wells Fargo spokesperson, said that Wells Fargo immediately launched a full-scale investigation. Also, notifies the US Secret Service about data theft.
The data breached was for the time period between May and June 2008.
How The Data Was Taken
Despite the ongoing investigation, Mary notes that the bank’s information security is looking into the loan application area of the bank.
“So far, we do not know how this person or persons gained access to the codes. They may have gotten hold of an employee’s access credentials,” Berg says.
Furthermore, the law enforcement investigation is looking both internally and externally for how the data was taken.
However, Berg didn’t want to comment on why MicroBilt became suspicious about the data accessed.
Bad News
After the breach, MicroBilt sent a list of about 7,000 names that had information taken in the data theft.
But, the list decreased down to 5,00 names, getting rid of duplicate names.
Despite the ongoing law enforcement investigation, Wells Fargo decided to notify all of the affected consumers.
Even though there are only a few of them that are Wells Fargo customers.
Good News
Berg wasn’t able to give exact numbers because of the investigation.
The good thing is each victim will receive one year of identity theft protection service.
Wells Fargo took this step even though many aren’t Wells Fargo customers. Why? Wells Fargo believes that they are responsible to protect them.
“We’re doing what we can to alert them so they can protect their accounts,” Berg says.
Legal Actions
Wells Fargo has got to the decision that the accounts were from a branch of the brokerage. Specifically in the northeastern part of the U.S.
Officials from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority reached out to several attorneys from Wells Fargo. Why?
The purpose is to find out how the cybersecurity breach happened and how did Wells Fargo found out about it happening.
The bank’s lawyers are contacting the regulators about the data breach as well, noted the report.
Wells Fargo, on the other hand, takes the security and privacy of customers’ information very seriously. It was proven by the banking firm in a report.
Moreover, they are now taking legal actions to ensure the additional data is not disseminated.
Also, they are requesting its rapid return.
Lastly, they are continuing to clearly investigate this matter and will take the proper steps.
It means having corrective action, based on the outcome of the investigation.
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