Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that Bank of New York Mellon Shareowner Services lost the personal information of 135,000 more Connecticut residents in a February 2008 data breach than it originally reported, and he is demanding additional information and weighing possible sanctions, including fines and penalties.
At a meeting today with Mellon officials, Blumenthal was joined by officials of the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and the Department of Banking.
Mellon's announcement swells to 635,000 the total number of Connecticut consumers whose information was lost in the data breach and 12 million nationwide. In May, the bank acknowledged about 500,000 state residents had personal data on unencrypted computer tapes stolen from a van going to a storage facility.
The bank is notifying all affected consumers by mail. Anyone wishing to know immediately whether their data was lost or seeking additional information should call Mellon at 877-289-0136. Consumers will be asked to provide their Social Security numbers.
Blumenthal said, "I have demanded prompt, proactive steps to safeguard consumers -- after an inexcusably long delay in identifying and informing Connecticut citizens.
"I am continuing our investigation and seeking all appropriate relief and sanctions for the bank's grossly inept and incomplete response to this huge data breach. We are working with other states on possible remedies, including fines and penalties.
"Mellon's delay in notifying is inexcusable and inexplicable. More than 130,000 state residents are learning only now -- nearly seven months after the fact -- that their most sensitive personal data may have been stolen, exposing them to the nightmare of identity theft."
Blumenthal added, "I will fight to assure that consumers receive the strongest possible protections against identity theft, as well as compensation should they suffer financial loss. There must be no more surprises. Consumers expect and deserve accurate, timely information, an explanation and protection from identity theft, all of which I will demand."
Mellon initially said about 4.5 million people nationwide were affected. Late last week, the bank announced about an additional 8 million consumers had information on the stolen tapes.
The additional data was contained in different documents on tapes lost by the courier transporting service. The lost information for the latest 135,000 Connecticut residents is mostly Social Security numbers.
