Galway city. Image: Anton Ivanov/Shutterstock
Physical documents containing private customer data are now back in AIB’s hands.
AIB has stated that documents lost by an employee in a car park on 31 August have been found. According to RTÉ, the documents were handed in to a business in Galway city.
‘All information has been retrieved. The Data Protection Commissioner has been informed. Customer contact commenced yesterday and is well advanced’
– AIB SPOKESPERSON
The business owner contacted the bank after media reports reminded him that he had been given the documents by a member of the public, who dropped them in to his establishment.
He had not been aware of the significance of the papers until the news reports emphasised the confidential information they contained.
The majority of those affected have been contacted by phone, and letters will be issued later today (14 September).
The records lost included customer names, loan and deposit balances, account turnover and annual fees, and were due to be used for a review of branch portfolios. AIB assured customers at the time that the files would not be enough to give anyone access to their accounts.
A response from AIB
Siliconrepublic.com reached out to AIB for comment and a spokesperson for the bank said: “The mislaid documentation was located on the evening of the 12th [of] September when a business owner in Galway contacted AIB to inform us the documentation was handed in to his premises on the day it was mislaid.
“All information has been retrieved. The Data Protection Commissioner has been informed. Customer contact commenced yesterday and is well advanced.”
The spokesperson also added that the bank takes its data protection mandate very seriously.
The fate of the employee that made the error has yet to be made public.
Galway city. Image: Anton Ivanov/Shutterstock
