Incident Summary #11: Financial institution reacts quickly to mass-mailing error

An individual received their RRSP tax contribution statement from a financial institution, but one copy contained the personal information of another individual, including their name, address, account number, RRSP contribution, and social insurance number. The financial institution reported the mass-mailing error to the OPC, explaining that a production error during automated printing caused a few hundred incorrect statements to be mailed. The OPC noted that the financial institution reacted quickly by assembling a breach response team, notifying affected clients, providing new statements, increasing account monitoring, and offering complimentary credit alert monitoring. The institution also asked clients to destroy incorrect statements and implemented new internal controls to prevent future errors. The OPC highlighted the importance of precautions in mass mail-outs and having systems to respond to errors.