A recent faux pas by First National Bank (FNB) has stirred the ire of one of its customers and, once again, raised the spectre that bank-related online transactions are not as secure as they should be.
The fracas centres on an e-mail sent by FNB`s corporate banking service, BANKit, earlier this month, informing clients that the service would be offline for two days while being upgraded. The e-mail was sent with 477 customer addresses in plain view on the recipient`s section and no effort was made to hide the addressees.
ITWeb has seen the e-mail, which clearly shows the recipients. The irate client who forwarded it to us, Stuart MacKay, has asked us for assurance that we won`t disseminate it further.
"I was absolutely astounded to see the addresses," says MacKay. "One would have thought they would have been a lot more careful about that."
What has irritated MacKay even further is that FNB has not responded to his questions as to why the mistake was made.
"I have received eight other replies from various BANKit customers, but absolutely nothing from the bank itself," he says.
A stonewall of silence was FNB`s stance when ITWeb tried to obtain comment.
"FNB has inadvertently broken its own contract with its clients, as it clearly states on the site that its information will not be sent to any other third-party," says a lawyer who specialises in electronic law.
"However, it does look as though it was a genuine mistake, rather than anything intentional, but the fact remains that it can be said to be careless or negligent and this could open it up to some form of litigation if a client can prove damages," she says.
MacKay says his main motivation in highlighting the issue is to prevent more carelessness. "I really don`t want anyone to be harmed in any way by this e-mail. But there was no response from FNB."
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