Fears about the security of offshore outsourcing have been raised again, after three former employees of an Indian outsourcing provider were arrested for allegedly siphoning off $300,000 (£160,000) from Citibank customers.
According to local press reports, the three former MphasiS employees were arrested in Pune, India, along with nine others, for stealing account details while working at the bank’s offshore call centre in India.
The former staff, who left MphasiS in December last year, are accused of stealing money from four Citibank accounts after obtaining customers’ usernames and passwords while working at the supplier’s call centre.
The stolen funds were transferred into new accounts that were set up under false names and e-mail accounts.
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The theft came to light when the Citibank customers noticed the funds missing and notified the bank.
The arrests have raised fears regarding the security of customer data at offshore centres. Analyst firm Forrester Research Asia Pacific said the thefts could lead to a 30% reduction in the amount of call centre work Western companies offshore to firms in India.
