Six months after backup tapes go missing, TD Bank alerts customers

More than six months after a breach incident, TD Bank began notifying customers that it lost two backup computer tapes containing their personal information

How many victims? TD Bank has yet to confirm, though letters informing customers of the incident were sent to an undisclosed number of individuals from Maine to Florida who could be affected. TD Bank has more than 1,200 branches and serves 7.4 million customers.

What type of personal information? Names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

What happened? In late March, two backup tapes, which contained the personal information of customers, were lost while being transferred between bank locations. The tapes were lost in Massachusetts.

What was the response? The bank is offering one year of free credit monitoring to affected customers. TD Bank also said that customers who report suspicious account activity may not be liable for unauthorized transactions.

Details: Rebecca Acevedo, a TD Bank spokeswoman, reportedly said the bank waited to notify customers of the incident in order to conduct a full investigation and search for the tapes. Acevedo added that there was no evidence that the lost data had been used inappropriately.

Source: pressherald.com, Portland Press Herald, “Bank waits months to reveal loss of personal data,” Oct. 9, 2012.