SunTrust customer data theft may affect 1.5 million

SunTrust Banks Inc. says accounts for 1.5 million clients could be compromised following a potential case of data theft.

The Atlanta-based bank, which operates the second biggest bank in Chattanoga, said Friday that a former employee may have stolen the data and an investigation is ongoing. Compromised information could include names, addresses, phone numbers and account balances.

SunTrust says it will offer identity protection from Experian IDnotify for all consumer clients at no cost on an ongoing basis. The company says it has not yet identified any fraudulent activity related to this incident.

It also says the compromised contact lists did not include Social Security numbers, account numbers, PIN, User IDs, passwords, or driver’s license information.

The company became aware of potential theft by a former employee of information from some of its contact lists.

“Ensuring personal information security is fundamental to our purpose as a company of advancing financial wellbeing,” SunTrust CEO Bill Rogers said in a statement. “We apologize to clients who may have been affected by this. We have heightened our monitoring of accounts and increased other security measures. While we have not identified significant fraudulent activity, we will reinforce our promise to clients that they will not be held responsible for any loss on their accounts as a result.”