[KnowItAll]

Twice bitten: Acts of stupidity can lead to identity theft | Surveillance State - CNET Blogs

Jeremy Clarkson, host of the BBC show Top Gear, recently wrote an article for the U.K.'s Sunday Times in which he ridiculed the uproar that had occurred after the British government admitted to losing two compact discs containing the personal information on 25 million people. To prove his point that there was no risk of financial fraud for those consumers, he published his bank account details, and instructions on how to locate his address. Writing in the Times, he claimed that "All you'll be able to do with [the account numbers] is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I've never known such a [fuss] about nothing."

The following week, he changed his tune after learning that an identity thief with a sense of humor had used the details to create an automatic bank transfer to the charity Diabetes UK.

[jonnye]

I did read this story and it made me laugh. Of course, Clarkson was quite correct that with the sort code and A/C number alone all one can do is debit money into an account... However, with the 'power of the Internet' (tm) it would be easy enough to get hold of enough information in addition to this to be able to set up withdrawals.
Clarkson now believes the halfwits who mislaid 25 million people's details should have their eyes poked out with cocktail sticks.
Obligatory Hill Street Blues quote: 'Let's be careful out there'