[LEE]

STAR LOANS SCANDAL Feb 18 2003

Student cash bosses show trainees how much famous owe

By CARA PAGE

BOSSES at the Student Loans Company are showing trainees the confidential records of the rich and famous.

One member of staff told the Daily Record how on his first day at work he was told to call up the address, phone number and account details of Prime Minister Tony Blair's son Euan.

Senior staff also let recruits see how much Travis frontman Fran Healy, singer Darius and Pop Idol winner Will Young still owe.

Our source said: "Anyone in the building with a terminal has access to them and all that information."

Staff are trained at the firm's plush HQ in Glasgow city centre.

The former trainee, who did not want to be named, told how instructors projected the accounts details on walls on the first day of training for a batch of 20 new recruits.

He said: "First we were shown Fran Healy's account and how much he owed and his address and phone number and then they showed us Will Young's.

"They also showed us students who live at Buckingham Palace. It didn't show Prince William's account but it was information on the children of people who work for the Royals."

Our source, who previosuly worked in a call centre for BT, was surprised by the ease with which details could be obtained.

He said: "Accounts like that are normally ring sensitive.

"You sign the Official Secrets Act in British Telecom and if you access an account like that then someone comes around to check you had a valid reason for being in that account.

"I asked if the accounts at the loans company were ring sensitive and I was told they were not."

He was given an account number by an instructor to put into the computer system.

It was the account number for Euan Blair who is studying at university in Bristol

He said: "It had his address, phone number and it showed he had borrowed money - in the same way as any student is entitled to regardless of their parents' income. The suggestion was `Look who his parents are and he is still claiming money'. I told the people training us that I didn't think we should be looking at that kind of information and that it could be dangerous.

"But they couldn't see anything wrong with it and thought I was just a bit of a troublemaker."

He said the call centre has a high turnover of staff.

He added: "I was there on my first day on a Monday with two girls who had been recruited at an open day on the Saturday two days earlier.

"It's unlikely the company would have had time to check their references.

"When I've been trained in call centres before it has been with defunct accounts not the live ones of the rich and famous.

"I'm sure all the people I've mentioned would be horrified to think their personal details were being used in this way."

Last night Rami Okasha, president of the NUS Scotland said: "The fact they're celebrities is irrelevant. They should have their privacy respected and shouldn't have their financial details bandied around every member of staff."

David Capitanchik, terrorism expert at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, said that in the current climate, information about the Prime Minister's son should be more secure.

He added: "It seems incredible and pretty stupid.

"There obviously isn't any special security attached to these sensitive accounts and there ought to be."

Agents for Scots star Darius Danesh, Fran Healy and Will Young said they would inform their clients of the matter

Last night the company refused to discuss the choice of accounts shown to trainees as they were prohibited to do so by the Data Protection Act.

In a written statement, they stressed that employees signed a confidentiality clause prohibiting them from discussing accounts.

The statement continued: "We do not discuss the details of any customer - which includes neither confirming nor denying whether a individual is a customer - and any breach will be reported to the Government's Information Commissioner."

[Romantic Old Bird]

This is pretty scary, but really comes down to an abuse of privilege by an individual or individuals in a position of trust.

It is the nature of my work to deal with sensitive and confidential information all the time, and of course I respect it. So do the nursing students just out of upper sixth forms. A true understanding of the nature of confidentiality, with respect for dignity and privacy are the real safeguards.

Data protection acts, Caldicott guidelines can only offer protection if positions of trust are not violated.

Financially, I think we are all naive if we think our status is not fairly easily accessible. Look how quickly you can obtain credit.

[jbellemeg]

I was very interested in your post Lee.
My grandson's fiancee works for the television licensing authority and she tells me that she could get the name and address of anyone in the country. She said there is no way anyone in her office would abuse the system.
There are ways to get caught out by doing this and at the end of the day their jobs and reputation are more important.
There are times they have to go into the whole system, but this is done under supervision.
I would hate to think my bank details arn't safe on line.
You hear hackers getting into your details, that is why you must always make sure you log off from your bank accout page.