Oh, Oh -- another major privacy breach, this time at HSBC, involving a reported 180,000 cardholders. Here's the CNN version of the story: Security Breach Hits HSBC's MasterCard Credit Cards - Apr. 14, 2005.
Although HSBC so far appears to be the only financial institution to disclose that it is alerting cardholders of the incident, credit cards issued by other banks also could be vulnerable. Under current rules, however, banks aren't necessarily required to alert their cardholders to the potential fraud.
Good for HSBC for talking to their customers. And remarkable that disclosure is not required, isn't it?
The question is, will HSBC be rewarded by customers for doing the right thing here? Add your perspective, all predictions welcome.
