In August, Wyoming-based Rocky Mountain Bank mistakenly sent names, addresses, social security numbers and loan information of more than 1,300 customers to a Gmail address. When the bank realized the problem, it sent a message to that same address asking the recipient to contact the bank and destroy the file without opening it.
No one responded, so the bank contacted Google to ask for information about the account holder. US District Court Judge James Ware in the northern district of California ordered Google to deactivate the email account and also disclose the Gmail account holder's identity and contact information.
The Gmail user hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but someone at the bank should be a little more careful when typing in the TO: field in an email.