Account and payment history data for 3.9 million of Citigroup customers was lost in transit by a UPS courier, according to Reuters.
New York-based Citigroup told Reuters that the data, which was stored on computer tapes, was lost while UPS was shipping them from New Jersey to an Experian credit bureau in Texas. The tapes were from the CitiFiancial Branch Network and contained Social Security numbers.
Citigroup has mailed letters to customers about the problem. although it maintains that it has received no reports of unauthorized activity and that there is “little risk” of the accounts being compromised.
“We were moving this using an enhanced security procedure we specified and developed with (UPS),” said Kevin Kessinger, president of Citigroup’s North America consumer finance unit, in an interview with Reuters. “You can imagine how frustrated and disappointed we are that this occurred.”