Identity Fraud Affects Barclays Chairman

The chairman of Barclays Bank has become a victim of identity fraud after a con man stole £10,000 from his personal account in a credit card scam. Marcus Agius, who took over as Barclays chairman last year, lost the money after a fraudster convinced a call centre worker to issue a credit card in his name. Armed with the card and personal details about Mr Agius, the con man went to a Barclays branch and withdrew £10,000 of the banking executive's money. The fraud has prompted a review of procedures at the bank and the implementation of new security checks for senior executives.

Eduardo Ustaran is a Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, based in London. He may be reached at eduardo.ustaran@ffw.com.