Carphone Warehouse is a mobile phone retailer, and a victim of cyber hack. Now, 24 million people's confidential data is at risk for having leaked. The leak was recently detected, and Carphone Warehouse said they immediately put a stop to it. However, it seems that the cyber attack started a couple of weeks ago.
At risk of having stolen are credit card data of some 90,000 people, BBC News reports. The data can be sold from 5 GBP to 10 GBP each. The other information that leaked are names, addresses, birthdates and bank details. A full profile of one person can be sold at higher price, as much as 20 GBP.
The affected companies are OneStopPhoneShop.com, e2save.com and Mobiles.co.uk websites. It also includes services to iD Mobile, TalkTalk Mobile, Talk Mobile and some Carphone Warehouse customers.
Representatives from Carphone Warehouse have been contacting their clients, advising them on how to reduce risk of further compromise. However, some are reacting that they should have been warned right after it happened, and not wait for the weekend when there are no banks. A customer, Menna Flavell says, 'how timely of Carphone Warehouse to delay announcement of hacking to weekend when banking services are most difficult to contact.'
Experts explain that Carphone Warehouse may have spent time assessing the damage before giving the warning as it may cause unnecessary panic.
Meanwhile, authorities advise that if you have been a client of Carphone Warehouse or any of its affiliates, you are to notify your bank and advise them about the possible unauthorized activity in your account. If you maintain online banking, change your password. Check your online accounts for suspicious activity. Never give out passwords to anyone. Check your credit rating, just in case someone has applied for credit in your name. If anyone contacts you with your data, be wary. Get the details of the person and check with your own contacts. Someone may pretend to be working for your bank. Get the caller's name and phone number, and then you call your bank to check if the caller is legit.
Dixons Carphone, the owner of Carphone Warehouse, has sent their apologies through their group chief executive, Sebastian James.
