Online Investment Startup Nutmeg Exposes Customer Financials in Email Goof

Customer investment details were sent to the wrong people due to a fault in the code running the firm’s service.

More than 30 investment suitability reports — including names, addresses and details of investments, assets and assessments of risk appetite — were compromised.

“The data breach is a blow to the Silicon Valley credentials of the wealth manager, which seeks to attract young tech-savvy investors by providing automated online investment services at low cost,” FT reports.

The system error occurred Sept. 1. Each customer was notified individually about the issue.

Renzo Marchini, special counsel with law firm Dechert, said that leaking details of personal investments could embarrass those whose data is leaked. “You’re giving away the wealth of someone,” he said.

There also is the potential that criminals could target an individual’s assets, with such specific information.