Scams can arise from data breaches: legal advice

Scams can arise from data breaches, leaks and hacks, and this is one of the additional worries and stresses that victims of privacy incidents must be vigilant about.

This is why the GDPR can entitle the victim of a data breach to claim compensation for any distress caused by the loss of control of their private information. The threat of a possible scam can be very distressing, and this can be considered as part of a legal case.

Your Lawyers, as leading Data Leak Lawyers, know all too well how badly victims of privacy breaches can be impacted. We represent thousands of people for data claims, and we have recovered over £1m in damages to date for mostly individual clients. We can help you now.

How scams can arise from data breaches

Information can be useful for fraudsters to obtain when it has been exposed. Enough information can lead to criminals being able to target people, and scams can arise from data breaches in a number of ways as a result.

Three simple examples could include:

• Direct fraud and theft by using exposed financial data.
• Identity theft using exposed information.
• Victims of a breach being contacted by fraudsters who can convince them they are genuine by using exposed data.

The last one is perhaps the important one to consider. If a hacker now knows your contact information, an account number for a company, and maybe details of your contract or an agreement, they could contact you and convince you they are calling from the actual company itself. They would have your name and contact details, and they would be able to tell you key details about an account that a legitimate company would know. Having convinced you that they are genuine, they could then use that power to try to convince you to make payments, for example.

Some real examples

There have been a few examples of how scams can arise from data breaches, leaks and hacks over the last few years. Whilst it is not always possible to know with 100% certainty that the scam has directly arisen from the breach matter, it can be possible to establish a link.

One of the most infamous examples is that of the TalkTalk cyberattack of 2015. Customers who were affected by the hack were contacted by fraudsters claiming to be from TalklTalk, and they were able to convince their victims because they had detailed information about their accounts and even about complaints and technical problems. One trick used was to ask their victims to allow them to access their computers so they could resolve their internet problems. They then promised the issuance of compensation and would ask the victim to log into their bank account to check their payment has been received whilst they were still secretly logged into their machine. They could then abuse this process to steal money from their victims.

Another more recent one as we mark two years on from the news of the Watford Community Housing data breach is about fraudsters sending scam letters and emails to people. The Watford Community Housing data breach group action is one of the dozens that we are running on behalf of people where we are seeking compensation for those affected by the privacy leak of 2020. Recently, some residents have reported receiving contact from scammers passing themselves off as contractors, and there are concerns that they have acquired information via the leak.

As we said above, we can not always be 100% certain that these scams are directly linked to the breaches. But information is powerful, and scams can arise from its misuse. That much is clear.

No Win, No Fee legal representation

You could be entitled to benefit from our No Win, No Fee legal representation as a victim of a data breach, leak or hack. You could be owed thousands of pounds in compensation, and we want to help you now.

Please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team for free, no-obligation advice here now.

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