UK to probe alleged data theft in Indian call-centres

LONDON: Britain will investigate the alleged data theft in Indian call centres after a TV channel reported that financial records of hundreds of thousands of Britons were available for as little as $15.

"It appears that some mobile phone companies' call centres in India are being targeted by criminals intent on unlawfully obtaining UK citizens' financial records and this will be the focus of our investigation," Deputy Information Commissioner, David Smith, said in a statement on Friday night.

"We are concerned by any breaches of security particularly if they involve confidential banking details," Smith, whose office is the UK's independent authority to protect personal information, said.

"If firms use an outsourced call centre, they are required to ensure security is adequate. If they do not, a company can be ordered to stop processing personal information outside the UK," he said.

Channel 4, in its programme 'Dispatches,' reported that criminal networks in India had offered consumers' bank account details and other commercial information.

In the programme, people were shown allegedly offering to supply credit card numbers, passwords and other information for as little as $15 and as much as $55 per customer.

These people allegedly claimed they could supply information on hundreds of thousands of people obtained from a number of commercial call centres in India.