We focus on the latest news surrounding data breaches, leaks and hacks plus daily internet security articles.
There is a wealth of information already out there in the public domain about most people. From loads of information accessible by anyone on social media platforms, to the data we share with organisations who may then be passing it around (whether we’re aware or not), there is so much out there.
So, when we have a serious data protection breach like the Equifax hack, the risk for victims is massive. It’s not hard for scammers and fraudsters to be able to find more information online about the Equifax breach victims, meaning the risks are very hard to manage.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued The Lead Experts Limited (TLEL) a £70,000.00 fine for reportedly making 111,072 unwanted nuisance calls.
TLEL violated data protection principles and the Privacy and Electronic Correspondence Regulations (PECR) when it failed to obtain real and proper consent from the people they had bombarded with nuisance calls, asking if they wanted to reduce their energy bills.
Today, direct marketing is easier than ever. Making calls to tens of thousands of people is incredibly feasible, and it doesn’t cost a lot to do it.
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Based in Dartford, True Telecom Limited has been fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for illegally calling people to advertise their services.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) reported a number of complaints from individuals who received calls from True Telecom despite being signed up to TPS to specifically let organisations know not to contact them for direct marketing purposes. Organisations who call people to advertise their products and services must first receive consent before they do so.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an £80,000.00 fine to broking company Verso Group (UK) Limited. The ICO found that the company violated data protection laws because it didn’t adequately inform data subjects what was being done to their personal information.
Whilst investigating two other companies for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, the ICO noticed that Verso Group may have been supplying the two companies with personal information for the others to send unsolicited direct marketing communications to unwilling subjects. One of the companies, Prodial Ltd, was fined for making 46 million nuisance calls and was subsequently fined £350,000 by the ICO.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently issued a monetary fine of £50,000 to a Maidstone firm for nuisance calls.
Nuisance marketing calls are split into 2 types: live marketing calls and automated marketing calls. They’re regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003.
Live marketing calls shouldn’t be made to anyone who has registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). The TPS is a service which allows individuals to block numbers from calling them. When organisations break the rules, they may incur hefty fines from the ICO.
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Sometimes the hackers only need very limited information to be able to scam you out of thousands and thousands of pounds. You sometimes see when companies get hacked or leak information that one of the immediate defences they raise is to assure people that financial information hasn’t been released.
But sometimes just a name, telephone number, and account number is all they actually need…
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Cold calls and telemarketing calls – words that are marred with a sigh of angst at the mere thought of them.
Most of us are plagued by marketing calls on a daily basis, and how they get hold of our personal information to call us can be a combination of pot luck with random numbers and buying your information from other organisations.
Just last month the ICO reported of legal action taken against several organisations for breaching the Data Protection Act through the use of telemarketing calls.
Some of the lengths these firms go to can be shocking!
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EasyJet admits data of nine million hacked
British Airways data breach: How to claim up to £6,000 compensation
Are you owed £5,000 for the Virgin Media data breach?
Virgin Media faces £4.5 BILLION in compensation payouts
BA customers given final deadline to claim compensation for data breach
Shoppers slam Morrisons after loyalty points stolen
Half a million customers can sue BA over huge data breach
Lawyers accuse BA of 'swerving responsibility' for data breach
The biggest data breaches of 2020
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