Personal details contained on a computer hard drive have been made public - after they were sold on eBay.
Personal details of around one million UK bank customers have been accidentally made public - potentially putting consumers at risk of credit card fraud.
The data leak occurred when information on American Express, NatWest and RBS customers was found on the hard drive of a computer sold through online auction site eBay. Included in the details are account numbers, sort codes, contact details and records of the customers' signatures.
Reacting to the news, the financial firms indicated that they were currently seeking the names of the people affected by the leak. Once contacted, it is likely that the customers will have to cancel their cards, and switch to other accounts.
Commenting to the Daily Mail newspaper, security expert Adam Laurie said: "This information is worth millions - a thief could easily use it to go on an enormous shopping spree. This is appalling."
Oxford resident Andrew Chapman, who bought the computer in question on eBay, also told the newspaper that he "couldn't believe it" when he first discovered what was on the hard drive. "In front of me was reams of extremely confidential information about thousands and thousands of people," he added.
Much of the leaked information is thought to consist of applications for credit cards to the three financial firms.
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