The UK payday loan firm, Wonga, has said that it’s “urgently investigating” a recent data breach which has seen attackers gain “illegal and unauthorised access to the personal data” of up to 245,000 of its customers.
Although Wonga has been aware of the breach for over a week, it didn’t initially act as it didn’t believe any data had been stolen.
Unfortunately, it’s become clear that data has indeed been stolen, and it includes includes names, addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers and sort codes. It could even include the last 4 digits of customers’ bank cards which some banks use as part of the process for logging into online accounts.
A worrying combination
Wonga has said it doesn’t believe that customers’ loan accounts have been affected but warns they should be vigilant.
This is a huge financial data breach and the combination of personal and bank details that have been stolen is a worrying one in terms of customers’ financial security. Wonga has said that it has set up a dedicated phone line, which it’s using to contact borrowers who may have been affected to offer support.
There’s the possibility that a further 25,000 customers in Poland have also been affected. In an official statement Wonga has said it “sincerely apologises” and is “working closely with authorities” as well as “informing affected customers.”
If you’re one of Wonga’s affected customers or you’re worried you could be, the company has set up a help page on its website.
The page advises that customers should alert their banks and ask them to be more alert to any suspicious activity, to be more conscious of any online or phone-based scam attempts and to contact the dedicated Wonga helpline for more information.
