Lloyds Banking Group revealed that a significant number of joint account holders may have had their transaction details exposed due to an IT glitch on March 12, 2023. Over 520,000 customers might be affected by this data breach.
The incident allowed users to see other people’s transactions, including charges and payments intended for strangers. As of midday, 80,508 joint account holders may have had their transaction details viewed by others.
During the incident, 446,915 customers logged into the app. Additionally, 107,937 customers clicked on transactions belonging to others. This raises serious concerns about customer privacy.
Lloyds has since taken action. They have paid £201,000 to 5,250 customers since March 24. An additional £62,000 in goodwill payments has been made to 1,625 customers.
The incident was caused by a software defect following an overnight IT update. However, Lloyds has not seen an increase in daily levels of fraud since the incident.
Lloyds Banking Group stated, “We also issued an alert on the app home screen to these 80,508 joint account holders, with a small number of exceptions based on particular customer circumstances.” Customers have expressed confusion and concern over unexpected transactions.
One Bank of Scotland customer noted, “I logged in and seen a payment I didn’t recognise and I refreshed it and it was gone.” Another asked, “Why are transactions coming out to London when I live in Scotland?” These quotes highlight the confusion among users.
Officials have not confirmed whether further compensation will be offered beyond the goodwill payments already made. The full impact of this data breach is still unfolding.