Bank of America Warns Certain Debit Card Holders of Personal Information Theft

Bank of America is alerting customers who are users of the Visa Buxx prepaid debit card, a product targeted to teenagers, that their personal information may have been compromised as a result of the theft of an unencrypted laptop computer.

In a September 23 letter sent to card users, the Charlotte, North Carolina, bank warned customers that their bank accounts, routing transit numbers, names, and credit card numbers were all subject to the security breach caused by the theft.

The laptop belonged to an anonymous Bank of America “service provider” and was stolen on August 29 said a Bank of America spokesperson.

The bank became aware of the theft on September 9 and after a two-week investigation began notifying customers via letters.

While the Bank of America claims the information on the laptop was not readily accessible to the thieves, the computer was not encrypted, and, for that reason, the bank is monitoring the affected accounts carefully for any sign of fraud.

To date, Bank of American has no evidence that any unauthorized person has accessed or reviewed the missing customer information. No further details regarding the theft have been revealed by the bank. Thus, the name of the service provider, how many customers were affected, and whether the theft occurred in the U.S. remain unreported to the public.

This is not the first serious security breach for Bank of America. The recent compromise of data follows a March announcement of identity theft affecting 60,000 customers. A month before that, Bank of America reported lost digital tapes containing the credit card information of 1.2 million U.S. federal employees.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.