According to Digital Trends, it is estimated that 50,000 individual customers had their data inadvertently shared with lawyers as part of 1.4 gigabytes of files (on a CD, no less) that Wells Fargo willingly turned over. The data included sensitive information such as customers’ names, social security numbers, the size of their investment portfolio, and the fees the banks charged. Furthermore, the majority of the affected customers are clients of Wells Fargo Advisors, the branch of the bank that serves high-net-worth investors.
Initially, the documents requested from Wells Fargo were part of a defamation lawsuit against a bank employee, Gary Sinderbrand, and were supposed to be just a few emails and documents directly related to the case. Meanwhile, large files with sensitive info have been released.
Nevertheless, Bressler, Amery & Ross, the law company Wells Fargo hired to deal with the case, was working with an outside vendor who apparently failed to adequately examine the documents to ensure that only necessary files were being sent over.
Sinderbrand’s lawyers noted that the former bank’s employee plans on keeping the CD and its contents confidential, the online publication continues.
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