Scams arising from the TV licensing data breach

Victims of last year’s TV licensing data breach need to take care to avoid falling victim to phishing scams that are doing the rounds at the moment.

Victims of the TalkTalk data breach – one of the over 20 data breach actions we’re representing people in – were contacted after the breach. It appears that scammers had got hold of information that had been exposed in the breach. Victims of the TV licensing data breach should be wary of being contacted in the same way.

We know that phishing scams using the cover of TV licensing are doing the rounds. One victim lost £10,000.00 to scammers after they managed to convince him they were the real thing.

Why TV licensing data breach victims need to be wary

We all need to be wary; but victims of last year’s TV licensing data breach should be even more wary of falling victim to a scam.

Criminals who hack data can sell the information on the dark web. Scammers and fraudsters can buy that data for a relevantly cheap price, and they can then use it to try and scam victims of a breach.

The fraudsters may contact a data breach victim and pretend to be the company involved in the breach. They will have legitimate information that has been exposed in the breach, so some will be convinced by their tricks.

Some scammers even contact victims claiming to want to speak to them about the breach and how they can take action to secure themselves.

As we often say: just a little information can go a very long way. Scammers and fraudsters prove this point.

Are victims of the TV licensing data breach being scammed?

We can’t say for certain if victims of the recent TV licensing data breach are being targeted by scammers. What we can say is that there have been cases of successful scams, and phishing emails related to TV licensing are currently doing the rounds at the moment.

It’s an easy one to fall for when you consider the penalties in place when you fail to pay for your TV license.

In a recent story, a man from Hampshire was scammed out of £10,000.00 when the fraudsters used the disguise of contacting him about his TV license. The phishing email directed him to a spoof website that was convincing enough for him to enter his information into it.

He was then contacted by the fraudsters who claimed to be from his bank, Nationwide. They had all his information from the phish, and they convinced him that he needed to move his money to a secure bank account due to being under threat.

He did so, and he complied with Nationwide’s text message security request given he thought he was speaking to Nationwide.

Were you affected by the TV licensing data breach?

If you were affected by the TV licensing data breach, we may be able to help you; especially if the breach resulted in you being scammed.

You will need to prove that the data breach was linked to fraudulent activity. In the example above, we don’t know whether there was a link or not. But it’s not uncommon for scammers to target data breach victims.

It happened after the TalkTalk hack.

People who entered information on the TV licensing website between 29^th August 2018 and 5^th September 2018 may be affected. The scammers cold even try and convince you by saying that they were unable to process a payment because of the breach.

You have to be very vigilant about who you speak to.

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