LONDON — In Japan the apparent loss of millions of payment records has jeopardized full pensions for many who must now "prove" what they have paid into the scheme. The debacle was a major factor in the Liberal Democratic Party losing its majority in the Upper House in the July 29 election.
In Britain, personal details, including bank account numbers, of many millions of those in receipt of child benefits have been lost in transit from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to the National Audit Office (NAO). This could open the way to identity fraud on a massive scale and cause huge problems for individuals and banks, if the computer discs involved are not found and end up in the hands of criminals.
The information on the discs was not encrypted when downloaded by a junior clerk. The NAO had requested only the names of child-benefit recipients, but because separating the information would allegedly have cost too much time and money, the NAO was sent discs containing all details held by Revenue and Customs.