SAN FRANSISCO WELLS FARGO BANK COMPUTER STOLEN Car thief whisks off Wells dataA laptop computer containing the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of thousands of Wells Fargo mortgage customers nationwide was stolen in late February when a pair of bank employees traveling in the Midwest stopped at a gas-station convenience store, leaving the keys in the ignition of their unlocked rental car.

As the Wells workers shopped for snacks, a thief made off with the car, a yellow Ford Mustang, around 2 p.m. on Feb. 26, according to police. When the vehicle was recovered five days later, all its contents were gone, including the laptop containing Wells' confidential information.

The laptop was still missing as of Thursday, said Detective Bret Carbray, who is investigating the case at the Edmundson Police Department, on the outskirts of St. Louis.

This is the second time in recent months that a thief has inadvertently made off with confidential Wells Fargo customer data. In November, a computer containing the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of thousands of home-loan clients was stolen from the Concord office of a consultant hired by the San Francisco bank.

Alejandro Hernandez, a Wells Fargo spokesman, insisted that the thefts do not illustrate a pattern of lax security on the bank's part when it comes to safeguarding customer information.

"The events are two distinct situations," he said. "What took place last fall was an experience that we learned from. We hope to learn from the current case as well."

Neither theft has resulted to date in customers' privacy being compromised, Hernandez added


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