For Wells Fargo, the incident is the latest in a series of embarrassing and nearly identical data breaches that have taken place over the past two and a half years.

In November 2003, the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of thousands of Wells Fargo customers were compromised when someone broke into the office of a consultant working for the bank and stole a computer containing the data.

In November 2004, the company announced that three laptops and one desktop computer containing personal data on thousands of the bank's borrowers were stolen from an Atlanta-based subcontractor that printed monthly statements for Wells Fargo.

That incident prompted two of the affected individuals to sue the bank for negligence and breach of contract. The case was decided in the bank's favor in March.

And in February 2004, a laptop containing confidential information on more than 35,000 Wells Fargo customers was lost by a company employee when it was left in a car that was stolen from a gas station.