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HMRC breaches job applicants' privacy in mass email spaff

Want to know if your nemesis is applying for the same job? You're in luck

Update HMRC is spewing job applicants' email addresses to potential rivals in mass circular responses it has blamed on "a technical glitch".

A reader got in touch to report their email address had been circulated to all other applicants in three instances.

In an email seen by The Reg, the reader's address was included in a list which included nearly 500 other addresses.

Responding to the applicant's complaint, HMRC recruitment said:

Please accept my sincere apologies for my previous email, sent today. Unfortunately, there was a technical glitch resulting in a confusing email.

This is not how we would have wished to communicate the outcome of the process and we will obviously like to rectify this moving forwards.

If you would like to discuss your application further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

HMRC is not the only body to apparently suffer from a "technical glitch" which resulted in data protection issues.

Yesterday, WHSmith's magazine subscription service began emailing everyone on the mailing list. The company blamed the issued on a "systems processing bug".

Update

An HMRC spokesman said: “This email was sent out by a third party acting on our behalf. No other personal data was displayed and we have told the agency to ensure that the technical problems that they experienced do not recur.” ®

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