Does it just stop at lost laptops?

We are all aware of the fine of almost £1m to Nationwide for their lost laptop. This single laptop was stolen from an employee’s house but it is reported that Nationwide failed to report the loss to the FSA.

The Nationwide claimed that the information on it could not have been used for identity fraud as there were no PIN numbers, passwords or account balance information on it. However, it appears the laptop may have contained names, addresses and account numbers.

This morning walking to the office there was parked a car with a laptop on the back seat with the window back window open and nobody in the car or in sight of the car. How many cases have you heard of where people put the laptop in the boot of their car and it then gets broken into? Or of people whose office just had the opportunist who grabbed the PA’s handbag or the laptop sitting on an unoccupied desk? Chains to lock you laptop to your desk are cheap so why take the risk?

But what else could they take which would could cause us an issue with the FSA?

Many of us have mobile phones which have our clients’ phone numbers on. Some IFAs have PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) which synchronise our email, calendar and address books, and some have even moved onto other communication devices (Blackberrys) which do the same as a PDA but the advantage of live email day and night anywhere in the world.

The PDA and Blackberry are often classified as mini computers, and some accountants will treat a Blackberry as a benefit in kind the same way as if you buy a PC for your home to check into the office. These devices have one part of the information for the identity thief, but will the FSA accept this as your defence?

Where does the trail stop, if at all? With the advance of technology, information can be stored in various guises and instruments. The mind boggles at the inventions emerging almost every day. Most will help IFAs to move forward into the 21st century with vigour but always remember that the data we store is usually more valuable than the machine it is held on.

Keith Churchouse is a chartered Financial Planner at Churchouse Financial Planning and creator of www.investmentmadesimple.com.

The views expressed are those of the author and not those of the company he represents.