Customers of UK network Vodafone may have to reset their accounts and check their bank accounts as thousands of details have reportedly been leaked in a security breach which happened last week.
Vodafone claims the 1,800+ customer records were not obtained through the company itself but via an external unknown source. How these details fell into the hands of said unknown source in the first place was not addressed in Vodafone’s statement to customers which was sent out at the weekend.
Reportedly the breach of security was discovered mid-week and is believed to have been noticed when attempts were made to use customer passwords. Vodafone confirms none of its customer’s bank details were accessed in full, and only the last four digits of credit/debit cards may have been taken along with names, email addresses and contact numbers.
The Information Commissioner’s Office and National Crime Agency are investigating and Vodafone customers are being encouraged to change their passwords entirely and not use any previously used words as the perpetrators may already be in possession of the originally used password and can work this out. Even those who are not affected have had their account with Vodafone frozen and passwords will need to be reset. Customers should also be wary of suspicious phone calls asking for personal information and emails which may be phishing scams.
This security situation for Vodafone reflects back to August this year when the Carphone Warehouse also got hit by hackers, but more severely, with up to 2.4-million of its customers’ personal information including names, addresses and bank details compromised.
Vodafone customers who are concerned about their bank account safety or notice unusual activity should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk