Having been a Talkmobile customer last year (when they were still part of Carphone Warehouse), I have received a couple of emails from Carphone Warehouse regarding their recent security breach and data theft.
Naturally, like the 2.4 million other customers, I am concerned about what these criminals have obtained, and how this information will be used.
The email stated that customers should keep and eye on their credit scores, as loans may be taken out in their names, which will either lead to money being taken, or a significant "hit" on their credit rating - Neither of which is good news.
Carphone Warehouse do not seem bothered by this data breach, as they are more worried about plugging the gaping hole that they left wide open for the hackers to exploit.
There is no apology from Carphone Warehouse, other than them stating that "We take the security of your data extremely seriously" - Well, they don't. If they did, this would not have happened.
I seriously hope that Carphone Warehouse have set money aside for compensation, as they are likely to get a hefty fine for such a massive loss of data.
What makes things worse is that there should have been no way that my data was still on their IT systems. I cancelled my contracts with them over a year ago, so they should not have retained my data, especially since they have sold on their Talkmobile network to Vodafone.
What to Do.
Have you been affected by this data theft?
The email that Carphone Warehouse have issued does contain some logical advice, and I would recommend that you follow it.
I contacted my bank to advise them that I may have been potentially affected by this breach, and they replied that they have had a lot of customers contacting them over this matter. Their advice repeated Carphone's message - But I would recommend that you do contact your bank, as some can be quite lax when it comes to fraudulent account activity.
The first step is to watch your bank account(s) like a hawk and immediately report anything suspicious. Having experienced this type of online fraud first hand, what starts out as the occasional £10 being spent on something that you don't recognise, soon becomes hundreds of pounds.
Scrutinise your accounts daily if necessary, and phone your bank as soon as anything suspicious appears.
Checking your credit score is a good idea, but realistically you will need to do this at regular intervals. Bear in mind that each credit check performed on "your file" will show up on your credit history, and some lenders (e.g. mortgage providers) will see this and even though these so-called "soft" hits on your credit file won't affect your credit rating, they will arouse suspicion. I have heard that some mortgage lenders will simply refuse a mortgage if too many "soft" hits appear on someone's file.
My IFA advised me to avoid too many hits on my credit file for at least six months after taking out a mortgage, as lenders can even pull new mortgages if they feel that there is a new risk associated with someone's credit rating.
If you are going to check your credit rating (and it probably is a good idea to do so), then Experian are the go-to place at the moment. You can sign up for a 30 day free trail, but be aware that you will be charged a pricey £14.99 a month if you don't cancel the free trail before it expires.
Given that you'll ideally need to check your credit rating several times over the next few months, my bank gave me some very good advice: Use www.noddle.co.uk since they are free for life (watch out for their insistence on signing up for their premium and "other marketing services"). Noddle doesn't have the same access to the same information as other credit report agencies, so it isn't as comprehensive, but free for life is a useful thing to have!
So, to recap - If you think that you have potentially been a victim of the Carphone Warehouse hack (they aren't doing a thing about it as far as your data is concerned), check your bank statements carefully for the next few months, and consider signing up to a credit check site, but only if you are currently financially stable and are not going to commit to any large loans any time soon, just to be on the safe side.
My bank also informed me that all potentially affected customers will be issued with new debit cards, which is a pretty good idea.
