All in the Cards

Oops. Bank of America lost information on "SmartPay" government travel cards affecting around 900,000 Defense Department workers. The cards work similarly to credit cards. Government workers use them while on the road to pay for trip expenses. The Secret Service is looking into the case -- in case it's a case of identity theft. Bank of America has found no fraud so far. They think they simply lost the information.

There are roughly 1.1 million travel cards issued to government workers. They place roughly $3.8 billion in purchases on them each year. The General Services Administration says using the cards instead of cash advances or reimbursements save taxpayers between $4 and $5 million a year. (Air Force Link) [HT: Dave Debo]