Former employee sentenced for stealing business data!

FORMER EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR STEALING BUSINESS DATA

An employee who passed sensitive information to an associate who then sold them on has been sentenced. Matthew, aged 28, from Manchester, was sentenced to 10 months suspended for 12 months and ordered to work 180 hours unpaid at Manchester Crown Court having previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. This followed an investigation by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED). Matthew’s co-conspirator, Oliver, aged 32, from Manchester, also pleaded guilty to offences under the Data Protection Act and was fined ￡3000 and ordered to pay ￡1000 court costs. Together they made approximately ￡20,000 stealing and selling the data.
Following a number of complaints from customers and a number of third parties contacting the brokers to say they no longer wanted the brokers to handle their policies directly, they began an investigation to look into the potential of a data theft. As part of their internal investigation to identify the source of the potential theft, the brokers undertook an analysis of the activity of their client handlers, the volume of data within each handler’s footprint, and the number clients whose business had been lost or not won.

In September Matthew was interviewed by the brokers and claimed he was selling data to a man called ‘John’ who he would meet outside a pub in Manchester. He was immediately suspended and later dismissed for gross misconduct. The matter was reported to the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED). The broker then had to contact all customers who may have been affected by the theft of data to alert them to the issue. Further investigations identified that cash deposits had been paid into Matthew’s account on a monthly basis.

It was also revealed that he was making regular payments to online betting sites. Matthew was arrested by IFED detectives in November. By examining his mobile phone the investigation team were then able to trace his accomplice, who was also arrested. Transactions from both accounts later showed them being in Crete on the same date. It was clear that Matthew completely abused his position of trust and responsibility within the Brokers and was working with his accomplice to steal and sell data at a substantial profit to themselves.

The police commented that these are often not just stand alone offences, but instead can be one cog in a much bigger criminal wheel being controlled by organised crime gangs. By working with industry to bring criminals like these to justice there is every chance they are also putting a dent in a much larger criminal network.

The brokers quite rightly have a zero-tolerance attitude towards data theft, and will work with the Police, the ICO and others to bring to justice those that commit a crime by stealing their data.