HBOS boss has accounts frozen after fraudster steals his identity and withdraws £7,000

Falling victim to identity theft is a horrendous experience for anyone.

But when you're the boss of one of Britain's biggest banks, it must be all the more galling.

HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby has had his accounts frozen after a thief stole his details and withdrew thousands of pounds in cash. 

It is understood he was caught on CCTV withdrawing cash from at least one branch and a cash dispenser.

Staff broke the news to the father-of-one when he was on holiday after an employee noticed unusual account activity. 

Fraud investigators are now examining the accounts to establish how much money has been stolen.

A source said: 'They think the thief is from a Nigerian background. He certainly looks nothing like Andy. It appears he used one of Andy's statements as proof of name and address in a branch.

'He also phoned a call centre to open an account with the details but it still didn't click, and he took cash from a hole-in-the-wall.

'It's hugely embarrassing for the head of a banking group to be so lax with personal information that someone can steal his identity. After all, banks are constantly warning customers to guard their private details.

'Bank staff had to call Andy on holiday to say they were freezing his accounts. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone.'

Mr Hornby, 41, hails from the West Country and is the son of a headmaster. After graduating from Oxford University, the Bristol City supporter worked as a consultant before studying at Harvard, finishing top of his class of 800 to obtain his MBA.

He joined the Halifax in November 1999 as chief executive, after three years at Asda.

When the bank merged with Bank of Scotland two years later - forming HBOS, Britain's fourth largest bank - he became head of the new organisation's retail division.

In 2006 he was promoted to group chief executive. At 39, he was the youngest chief executive of a British bank and one of the youngest bosses of a FTSE 100 company.

His approachable leadership style has seen him regularly appear online for 'ask Andy' sessions and has featured in an internal bank television service.

Mr Hornby was dubbed 'Golden Banker' by analysts when profits rocketed after the merger. Both he and the bank have declined to comment on the fraud.

A HBOS spokesman said: 'We never comment on individual customers.'

In January, it emerged that the chairman of Barclays bank had £10,000 stolen from his bank account after a fraudster took out a credit card in his name.

The identity thief convinced Barclays call centre staff he was their £800,000-a-year boss Marcus Agius, and persuaded them to send him a new card.

He then walked into a branch of Barclays and withdrew the cash. Mr Agius, 61, the chairman of Barclays, ordered an immediate review of security procedures.

It is believed the thief found Mr Agius's date of birth, background and address on the internet..