Barclays chairman ID stolen

An identity thief has stolen £10,000 from Barclays Bank by requesting a credit card in the name of the bank's chairman and withdrawing cash from a branch.

According to the bank, 'procedures have been tightened' as a result.

Barclaycard has repaid the £10,000 to Mr Agius after admitting 'human error' was to blame for the blunder.

As a company director, the chairman's personal details are freely available from the public records at Companies House - details such as his full name, date of birth and home address. It's not clear from the newspaper article what if any further information was required of the identity thief, nor what credentials, if any, he/she presented at the branch other than the fraudulently-obtained credit card. I would guess that anyone asking to take out ten grand in readies would be given the third degree at the desk and would most likely be seen on the branch CCTV system ...