An intruder hacked into a Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) server in Germany, gaining access to 2 million customers’ personal details and banking information.

A person with insider knowledge stole data including names, addresses, birth dates, and bank account information, the world’s second-biggest mobile-phone carrier said in a statement today. The hacker had no access to credit-card information, passwords, PIN numbers or mobile-phone numbers, Vodafone said.

The attack was detected by Vodafone at the beginning of September, stopped and reported to the police, Kuzey Esener, a Vodafone spokesman, said. Clients can check on Vodafone’s German website to see if they are affected, and will also be informed by mail, he said. While the data stolen does not allow criminals to access bank accounts, Vodafone will warn clients of the possibility of so-called phishing attacks, he said. more