A lettings agent has been fined after attempting to “blag” his way into financial records belonging to a tenant
Pinchas Braun, of Riverside Road, South Tottenham, was fined £200 by Highbury magistrates on Monday, after being found guilty of attempting to obtain the financial details from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), last June.
Braun, who worked for property and rental business Manor West Estates, called the DWP to try to access the account of one of his employer’s tenants, a benefits claimant.
However, suspicions of fraud were raised when Braun was unable to give the tenant’s middle name.
The DWP representative subsequently ended the call before any personal data was disclosed.
The DWP investigated before reporting the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who identified Braun as the caller.
Christopher Graham, information commissioner, said: “This case shows that unscrupulous individuals will continue to try and blag people’s details until a more appropriate range of deterrent punishments is available to the courts.”
Braun was found guilty of an attempt to commit an offence under section 55 of the Data Protection Act and the Criminal Attempts Act.
He was fined £200 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £728.60 prosecution costs.
Hornsey Journal