UK Retail Giant Breached by Insider

A call center operator at one of Britain's largest online retailers was arrested last week for stealing credit card data from callers, whose accounts were subsequently defrauded.

According to a London news report, a woman gave her credit card information to a customer service operator at Tesco's call center in Cardiff, Wales, on one September day, and that data was used to make almost $1,500 in purchases just hours later in London.

Wales police have arrested a Tesco call center employee from Ghana who was in the U.K. on a temporary visa. It is not clear whether Tesco did a a background check on the man before hiring him.

British officials are concerned that criminal gangs may be targeting poorly paid call center workers both inside and outside the U.K. as insiders who can help leak credit card data and other personal information that might be used for fraud.

The problems at Tesco may be the "tip of the iceberg." according to Nigel Evans, a member of Parliament.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading