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GDPR breach results in criminal record and suspended prison sentence

ended 09. October 2024

Two former RAC employees have been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, for unlawfully copying and selling over 29,500 lines of personal information. Debbie Okparavero, 61, of Salford and Maliha Islam, 51, of Manchester, worked as customer service specialists at the RAC’s call centre in Stretford. Their unlawful conduct was discovered by, and reported to the ICO, the RAC after it installed new security monitoring software.

The software showed Okparavero had unlawfully accessed and copied personal information relating to people involved in road traffic accidents. A subsequent search of Okaparavero’s mobile phone showed the information was shared in a WhatsApp chat with Islam. Messages indicated that a third party was paying for the information. At a hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court on 8 October 2024, Okparavero and Islam were sentenced to 6 month prison sentences, suspended for 18 months, and each were ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Data Protection Act 2018. Prosecution costs will be considered at a Proceeds of Crime hearing listed for 5 March 2025. Full ICO statement here.

Newspage asked GDPR and legal experts for their views, which will appear below until 18:00.

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Keith BuddenVerified
Managing Director at Ensurety
I've been warning for a while now that the ICO was going to prove it had teeth. With this judgement, and at least one other which I know is working its way through the legal system, it really is time for all businesses and charities to sit up and take notice. If you last had your GDPR training or last did a Data Privacy Impact Assessment more than 12 months ago, you really need to pull up your socks and take action today. A GDPR breach has always meant bad news for your reputation, but now it could mean a criminal record, too.