Scotland Yard officers in laptop security breach

13 April 2012

Tens of thousands of Scotland Yard officers were urged to check their bank accounts after thieves stole three laptops containing payroll details for the force.

Officers were told to report any signs of 'suspicious activity' in their accounts after the computers were stolen from a private company responsible for the Met's pay and pension services.

It is feared officers could be victims of fraud or that their personal details used to create false identities.

Scotland Yard chiefs told officers to be vigilant in an urgent warning on the force's Intranet after details of the theft were exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail.

Sensitive financial information including bank details and national insurance numbers of at least 15,000 officers - half of the force - were contained in laptops stolen from the south London offices of LogicaCMG.

Details of Met chief Sir Ian Blair's bank accounts were among those in the laptops. The break-in at the firm's offices in Southwark took place last Thursday but was not discovered until staff arrived at work the next day.

Met chiefs were so desperate to keep details of the security gaffe under wraps that they did not inform rank and file officers of the burglary until.

Because of the sensitivity of the incident, the investigation is being overseen by a senior Met officer based at New Scotland Yard.

The Mail can reveal that in addition to bank details, the laptops also contained home addresses and salaries of a number of high-ranking officers.

Detectives suspect the burglary was carried out randomly by local drug addicts who have probably already sold the goods on for cash.

CCTV footage of the premises are being checked and inquiries carried out to establish why such sensitive financial information about Met officers had been transferred to the laptops.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "We believe the risk of staff members falling victim to either fraudulent activity or identity theft is minimal.

"However, we are in discussion with CIFAS (the UK fraud prevention service), APACS (the single point of contact for most UK financial institutions) and credit reference agencies about what action we can take to further safeguard our staff from becoming victims of fraud."

It said it was in the process of informing staff of the theft and has conducted a "risk assessment" of the data on the laptops. Peckham-based officers are investigating the robbery, supported by the Specialist Crime Directorate.

A man was arrested on suspicion of burglary on Friday and was later bailed to return to a south London police station at a future date, pending further inquiries. Yard sources said that at present, there was no need for officers to change their accounts.

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