TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Missing ABN Amro Tape With Two Million Names Found

Re: Missing ABN Amro Tape With Two Million Names Found

Ron Chapman (ronchapman@wideopenwest.com)
Tue, 20 Dec 2005 21:00:18 -0500

In article <telecom24.571.7@telecom-digest.org>, Monty Solomon
<monty@roscom.com> wrote:

> Update: Missing ABN Amro tape with 2 million names found. The tape was
> lost while DHL was transporting it to a credit reporting service

I call bullshit.

Let's analyze this:

2 million names and addresses and mortgage information and SS
numbers. And DHL lost it.

The letters went out last Friday, 12/16, and got to people Monday,
12/19.

The letters offered a 90 day complimentary subscription to TransUnion's
credit monitoring service, to help prevent identity theft.

I called ABN Monday night at 8:30 and told them, no good. I want a
year on that subscription. (It took me 20 minutes of busy signals
before I got through). He said, sorry -- 90 days is what's being
offered. He said they'll probably extend it past 90 days if they don't
find the tape, but 90 days it is.

I hung up.

I went to ABN's web site, signed in, and sent them a "contact me"
letter stating I want a year's subscription.

Tuesday morning at 8:30, 12 hours later, I called ABN to see what
another rep said. And guess what?

ABN's tape recorded message said:

* magically, the day everyone got his letter from ABN and called ABN
(no doubt a day of hell for them), DHL found the tape and delivered it
back to ABN Amro.

* "We are extended the credit monitoring subnscription to a year, due
to customer feedback."

I call bullshit on this one. I predict that they don't have the tape,
that they're lying to make themselves look good. Recovering the tape
the day everyone receives the letter? Too coincidental. If it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is.

Then I do a little sleuthing in Google news.

ABN lost this tape on NOVEMBER 18, a month ago. It wasn't until
December 16 that they mailed the letters out to customers.

ABN is also claiming that this tape they lost was "scheduled" to be
the last physical delivery like this, that they had already begun to
implement a secure electronic delivery of this information, slated to
begin this month.

I REALLY call bullshit on this now. The meter is pegged. They're
reporting too many "happy" coincidences.

I say that they lost it on November 18, and on November 19 began
implementing secure electronic delivery of the information.

And they delayed telling anyone about this because they had NO
contingency plan in place for this situation. They spent a month
negotiaing the deal with TransUnion to provide credit monitoring.

Potentially, your information was out there for an entire month, being
used, without your knowledge, thanks to ABN Amro.

And potentially, it's still out there being used -- because I don't
believe that ABN got that tape back yesterday. I believe they're
lying. It's just too coincidental.

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, it is _possible_ that ABM got the
missing tape back after a month or so. More than likely ABM had their
shipment through DHL insured to a maximum value, and when an _insured_
shipment gets somehow lost in transit, the package tracers will look
high and low, even a month or more to find it rather than have to pay
off on the loss. PAT]

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