By silicon.com, 23 June 2005 16:30
News today that an undercover reporter from The Sun newspaper was able to buy the details of 1,000 British bank accounts has understandably been met with outrage and disbelief in equal measure.
But we can't help thinking that underpinning much of the eagerness with which this news has been picked up is a desire among a great many people to say 'I told you so', with a satisfaction on their part gained from the fact that it's now been proven beyond doubt that Indians can't be trusted with the responsibility that offshoring brings - and therefore the whole trend is fatally flawed.
Of course this isn't the case. What it proves is that for a year's salary somebody with a criminal inclination will betray whatever data they have access to.
Let's not pretend the same wouldn't be true of similar individuals in a UK call centre. There are good and bad in all societies. The only thing which can be attributed to the specifics of this case - that it occurred in a call centre in India - is the fact a year's pay is less there than in some other parts of the world and therefore the margins are greater for the criminals buying the lists.
What the banks need to be doing is working more rigorously to ensure staff anywhere within their organisation cannot commit these kinds of crimes. Fortunately when the dust settles on the more emotive aspects of this case, it appears it will indeed be the banks which face scrutiny - not the business model.
One anti-fraud expert within a UK bank unaffected by this scandal explained that his company makes all call centre staff go through a strict initiation - a particular feature of which is an exercise where they are confronted with graphic images of the inside of an Indian prison and are told in no uncertain terms they will end up there if they steal data.
It sounds like a strange tactic but has apparently been very successful, as has a rigorous enforcing of rules which forbid any removable media or storage devices from entering the data environment and a ban on print-outs and paper exiting the call centre.
So let's keep our eye on the real issue - that companies need to protect data more effectively - rather than assuming this is flimsy proof that some people just can't be trusted with our data.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. Karen Challinor
What it does show is that a law designed to protect UK citizens against this very thing, the data protection act, has now been rendered useless by companies offshoring sensitive material without taking adequate safeguards to protect it.
Simply saying that 'You cant say I told you so' to the anti offshore lobby, isn't good enough. Action is required at government level to prevent a reoccurrence, after all this is a UK law which is being bypassed.
Globalisation is no excuse for passing the buck.
2. Carl Maycock
Why don't they just pay them enough so that the £3-4 they get per transaction isn't worth it ?
Maybe if the Banks actually had some involvement in the conditions of the call centres and ensured decent working standards the employees wouldn't feel like jeopardising their job.
But alas no the Banks only involvement seems to be how little they can pay for the services. They should be fined for not ensuring that the data was safe. After all it doesn't matter where the data is held it's the Banks responsibility to safe guard it.
3. Mike Grello
The thing you are missing is that due to the greed and immorality of CEOs in developed parts of the world, it is more economical for the criminal to bribe a call center worker in India or China than the US or UK. Because a years salary in the US or the UK is so much higher than India or China, rampnat corruption is more easily afforded in those venues.
4. Michael Peters
It may be the case that the same thing could happen here. However the difference is that at least here these individuals would face our laws and data held in this country is controlled by the Data Protection Act.
5. Angus
I agree with Michael Peters on this one. The simple fact is that with it not being on our shores we feel insecure, however if this had to happen in the UK the person would be named and shamed, and subject to the laws of our land.
Off Shoring is fine for helpdesks and programming, but when it comes to personal individual information we have to draw the line.. banks should never be outsourced.
I for one refuse to speak or confirm any details unless i am confident I am being called from a uk/ireland call centre. I would not even talk to BT if I am getting called from india.
It is a case of "told you so" so just because silicon.com say it isnt so does not make it so..
We all expected this to happen.. so by that.. I think the "i told you so" is warranted.
6. Malcolm Ripley
It IS happening here. Companies especially financial have been fighting against fraudulent activities in Britain for years and its costing them a fortune (despite all the laws, criminal don't care that's why their criminals!). When the Sun focussed the attention on Indian call centres don't think for one moment that there wasn't another reason for them doing it. If the Daily Mail had done it the reason would have been obvious !
7. anonymous
I resent the idea that my motivation for disliking the offshore outsourcing is based on to whom it is being offshored.
Lets get this straight. If you pass skills, experience and 'critical mass' to another country and withdraw it from your own you undermine your own eceonmy for the sake of the bonuses alloted to a few individuals.
No matter how you measure the short term gains in terms of share price and 'focus on core business' the most fundamental outcome of this activity is that you no longer have the skills and experience to manage a complex and costly activity yourself.
In twenty years when we look back on our technological leadership as a distant memory and wonder why it is now us working 70 hour weeks to meet the mortgage payments we will realise that we have lost the capacity for self-determination and adaptability to meet whatever demands arise in the, by then, maturing global economy.
Dont try to claim the upper hand by branding me a racist. Look to your own motivation for such an article.
8. Chris Stevens
Offshoring has benefits in that you avoid paying UK Tax, avoid paying pensions and have lower personnel costs.
The other benefits are that you bypass the UK laws on data and privacy protection. I frequently receive unsolicited calls advertsing global companies from the India Subcontinent on my phone which is registered with the TPS scheme. If those calls were originated in the UK each one would attract a £5,000 fine.
It is small wonder that an industry based on the benefits of tax and law avoidance will attract corruptible employees.
9. anonymous
I think Silicon should offshore it's editorial team to India.
Indian staff are obviously better educated and cheaper that their British counterparts and have the added advantage of being Multi Lingual, and are at least as honest and objective if not more so.
In fact if we can decrease the demand for British Journalists we could really suppress their salaries in the UK and make youngsters think twice about signing up for Journalism courses at University.
Feels good don't it !!