whoops!

well not to make light of this - we are all now just some data on a tape or a hard drive somewhere. it's a shame but that is our world. i for one had my atm card information stolen (NOT the card, just the number) and i know what it feels like, NOT very nice at all. however, my bank (webster) was WONDERFUL as were the vendors the thief contacted with my info. everyone credited the money back to my account and all was well. neither the bank (i believe that is what they told me) nor the police were going to seek the thief out BUT some of the vendors i talked to WERE. i asked a couple if they could give me some contact information of the thief, but they of course said NO (dammit, i did so want to 'chat' with them)

Bank loses tape with personal information on 90,000 customers
By John Christoffersen, AP Business Writer January 11, 2006
STAMFORD, Conn. --A tape containing the Social Security numbers and other confidential data of 90,000 People's Bank customers was lost recently while en route to a credit reporting bureau, state and bank officials said Wednesday.
Millions of people around the country have been affected by a recent string of data losses and thefts involving major financial institutions and businesses including Citigroup Inc., Time Warner Inc. and Ameritrade Holding Corp.
People's has no reason to believe the data has been used inappropriately and has received no reports of unauthorized activity, officials said. Customers do not need to close accounts because the information is not sufficient to allow unauthorized access, the bank said.
But consumer advocates say identity thieves could use Social Security numbers to open new accounts in the names of those affected.
They say such data should be encrypted so it cannot be illegally accessed and they advocate new laws that would allow consumers to place fraud or security alerts on their credit reports to prevent thieves from creating accounts.
"I am extremely concerned when I hear about data breaches involving Social Security numbers," said Susanna Montezemolo, policy analyst with Consumers Union, one of the nation's leading consumer-activist groups.
The Bridgeport-based bank, which is notifying affected customers, said the tape was lost recently while UPS was taking it to TransUnion, a credit reporting bureau. UPS is investigating, said spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg.
The missing tape contains information about personal credit line accounts such as names, addresses, Social Security and checking account numbers. It does not contain checking account balances, debit card numbers, personal identification numbers or birth dates. Equity credit lines and other People's accounts are not affected, the bank said.............