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BA Investigating Theft of Personal and Financial Data

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Old Sep 7, 2018, 8:15 am
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On Thursday 6 September 2018 at about 1830 London time (UTC+1), BA announced that there had been a data breach involving customers using the BA website and the BA mobile app.

Updates from BA are being posted to this ba.com page: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...st-information
A further update dated 25 October 2018 can be found in this post 1377. The SPG Law class action thread can be found here.

As at 1400 London time on Tuesday 11 September 2018, the body of that page read:-
Customer data theft

We are investigating, as a matter of urgency, the theft of customer data between 22:58 BST August 21 2018 until 21:45 BST September 5 2018 from our website, ba.com, and our mobile app.

The stolen data included personal and financial details of customers making bookings and changes on ba.com and the airline’s app. The data did not include travel or passport details.

The theft has been reported to the authorities and our website is now working normally.

What to do if you have been affected

If you believe you may have been affected because you made a booking or paid to change to your booking with a credit or debit card on ba.com or the mobile app between 22:58 BST August 21 2018 until 21:45 BST September 5 2018, we recommend you contact your bank or credit card provider and follow their advice.

We understand that this incident will cause concern and inconvenience. We are contacting all affected customers to say sorry, and we will continue to update them in the coming days.

Phishing

Customers should also be aware that fraudsters may be claiming to be British Airways and attempt to gather personal information by deception (known as 'phishing').

We will not be contacting any customers asking for payment card details and any such requests should be reported to the police and relevant authorities.

See below for more information on how to validate that the email you have received from us is genuine.
That is followed by a series of FAQs. These are reproduced at the end of this wikipost.

If you are experiencing difficulties in changing your BA password or want further information about doing so, some information is in this thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...rd-ba-com.html (which also has a wikipost).

Reports from FTers suggest that credit card companies and banks are taking differing approaches to this incident:-
  • American Express - A recorded message says they are aware of the breach, there is no need to take any further action and if you suffer any financial loss you will be fully compensated; an email says: "There is no action you need to take – we will contact you immediately if there's any unusual activity with your Account. In the meantime you can continue to use your Card as normal" (see post 293, post 401, post 470 and post 491).
  • Barclaycard - They just assured me I was fully protected, and I didn't need to do anything yet (see post 253); however at 18.20 on 7/9/18 the customer service helpline automated message says that affected cards are being reissued (see post 511).
  • Barclays Bank - They have contacted people they believe to have been affected, and have blocked their cards from online use (website/app), but the cards remain valid for physical (chip & PIN) transactions in shops, ATMs etc. New cards being dispatched "within a week" (see post 918).
  • Capital One - online transactions being blocked, new cards being issued (see post 493).
  • Chase (British Airways visa) - no contact from Chase about data breach and card still working
  • HSBC Premier Mastercard - Offering customers the option to freeze the card or replace it with a new card (see post 274).
  • Lloyds - Said "wait and see", but did give the option to cancel the card and have it reissued (see post 403).
  • Lloyds Mastercard - Based on the information they have, fraudulent use of my card is unlikely, just keep an eye on online banking and report anything suspicious (see post 370).
  • Monzo - Automatically replacing all cards (see post 371).
  • Natwest- Of the opinion that as there had been no fraudulent activity on my account to just keep an eye on things, and to call immediately if any suspicious transactions appear and fraud team would refund (post 315).
  • Sainsburys Bank - seem to be replacing all cards proactively (see post 968)
  • Starling - Automatically replacing cards (see post 460).
  • Tesco Bank - Pro-actively sending a new card as per details in this post (post 484)
  • TSB - Call the Telephone Banking Team on 03459 758758 to discuss further (see post 437).
  • Vanquis - online transactions being blocked, new cards being issued (see post 493).
FAQs (as at 1400 London time on Tuesday 11 September 2018):-
Have I been affected?

How do I know if I have been affected?

Customers who made bookings or changes to their bookings on ba.com or our mobile app between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 BST September 5, 2018 may have been affected.

We advise any customers who believe they may have been affected to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their advice.

We are experiencing high call volumes into our contact centres so please continue to check this page for the latest information.

Contact us

What data has been lost?

The personal and financial details of customers making bookings on ba.com and our mobile app between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 BST September 5, 2018 was compromised. No passport or travel details were stolen. Only customers who made bookings between these dates are affected.

Names, billing address, email address and all bank card details were all at risk.

Did this affect just new bookings or any payment transaction made within the impacted time period?

All payment transactions made on ba.com or our mobile app from 22:58 BST August 21 2018 to 21:45 September 5 2018 inclusive were affected. Nothing before or after these dates and times was impacted. Payments made through our call centres, travel agents or online travel sites are not affected.

Are my saved payment card details safe if they were used to make a booking in that period?

If you made a payment using a saved card on ba.com or the mobile app from 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 to 21:45 September 5, 2018 inclusive, you may have been impacted.

No Executive Club accounts were compromised in the data theft. There is no impact to Avios or details stored with the British Airways Executive Club.

Has saved credit card data been stolen, even if a booking hasn’t been made in that period?

No, saved payment card data has not been compromised. However, if you made a payment using a saved card on ba.com or the mobile app from 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 to 21:45 September 5, 2018 inclusive, you may have been impacted.

How were phone numbers not affected?

Phone number information is collected in a separate part of the booking process and is not used as part of the payment transaction therefore this has not been impacted.

I used PayPal to pay for my ba.com transaction. Is this impacted?

If you booked through PayPal, your PayPal account will not have been compromised. There does remain the risk that some of your personal information such as your name and address may have been accessed. No passport details or travel details were compromised.

Is Apple Pay affected?

If you used Apple Pay via the mobile app then your data will not have been compromised.

I had a failed payment attempt during the affected time period – am I affected?

If you clicked the pay button on ba.com then the transaction would have taken place even if the outcome was unsuccessful and the data would have been compromised.

We advise any concerned customers to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their advice.

Will I be affected if I made a free change to my booking but my payment card details were saved in the reservation?

If you made a free change to your booking via ba.com and did not use your payment card as part of that transaction, then you will not have been impacted.

Are travel agent bookings affected?

Only bookings or changes to bookings made directly with ba.com or the mobile app between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 BST September 5, 2018 were affected.

If a change was made to a travel agent booking on ba.com and payment made for an additional product, such as seat reservations or excess baggage, then these would be affected.

Does this affect Executive Club accounts in any way? i.e. missing Avios/ Tier Points

No accounts were compromised in the data theft. There is no impact to Avios or details stored with the British Airways Executive Club.

I received an email about the data theft, however I only cancelled a booking during this time – will I be affected?

If you cancelled and refunded your booking between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 September 5, 2018, you will not have been impacted.

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What should I do if I think I am affected?

Should I call my bank or cancel my credit cards?

We recommend that all customers who made bookings or changes to their bookings with ba.com or the mobile app, between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 BST September 5, 2018, contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their advice.

I think my card was compromised when I made a booking on ba.com outside of the time period – what should I do?

The data theft relates to customer bookings made or changed between 22:58 BST August 21, 2018 and 21:45 September 5, 2018 only.

We advise any concerned customers to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their advice.

How would I know if I have been a victim of identity theft?

There are a number of signs to look out for that may indicate that you might have been a victim of identity theft:-
  • Post from your bank or utility provider doesn’t arrive.
  • You apply for state benefits, but are told you are already claiming.
  • Refused financial services, credit cards or a loan, despite having a good credit rating.
  • Receiving letters in your name from solicitors or debt collectors for debts that aren’t yours.
If you think that you might be a victim of identity theft, then you should:
  • Request a copy of your credit file to check for any suspicious credit applications.
  • Report the theft of personal information and suspicious credit applications to the police and ask for a crime reference number.
  • If fraud has been committed, contact Action Fraud.
I have had some suspicious emails or phone calls – are they legitimate?

If you are concerned about an email, we recommend that you don't click on any links, open any documents or reply to it until you have looked into it further.

Official emails relating to this theft will be sent from: [email protected]. You should hover over the sent email address to confirm this is where the email has been sent from before clicking on it.

British Airways will never proactively contact you to request your personal or confidential information. If you ever receive an email or call, claiming to be from us, requesting this information, please report it to us straight away.

We've put the details of the scams we're aware of on our ba.com website security page. There's also security essentials information to help you, along with details of how to report any new scams to us (or other emails/calls that have concerned you).

Will I be reimbursed?

We take the protection of our customers’ data seriously and are very sorry for the concern that this criminal activity has caused.

We will continue to keep our customers updated with the very latest information.

No customer will be out of pocket as a direct result of the criminal theft of data from ba.com and the airline’s mobile app. Any customer who made a booking between 22:58 BST August 21 2018 and 21:45 BST September 5 2018 will be reimbursed for any fraudulent activity on their accounts as a direct result of the data theft and we shall advise the process for this in due course.

We will be offering a 12-month credit rating monitoring service to any affected customer who is concerned about an impact to their credit rating, provided by specialists in the field and will share details of this in the near future.

Will BA pay for costs associated with getting new cards, e.g. postage costs?

No customer will be out of pocket as a direct result of the criminal theft of data from ba.com and the airline’s mobile app. We are working through the process and will update our customers as soon as we can.

How do I reset my ba.com password?

ba.com and Executive Club accounts have not been compromised and your login details are safe.

However, if you’d like to change your password, first ensure you are logged out of ba.com and click the Forgotten Pin/Password link on the top right-hand corner of the homepage. We recommend you choose a unique password that you do not use for any other online account.

We are aware of some customers experiencing intermittent issues when attempting to reset their passwords. We are working on resolving this as quickly as possible.

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How does this affect my bookings?

What shall I do if I am due to travel today?

The incident has been resolved and all systems are working normally so customers due to travel can check-in online as normal.

Will I still be able to check in?

Yes, all customers booked on our flights will be able to check in as normal.

Will this affect any future bookings?

The incident has been resolved and ba.com is working normally so future bookings will not be affected.

Will bookings made over the period of this incident remain confirmed?

Yes, all bookings made remain valid for travel.

If I cancelled the card my booking was made with what do I need to bring to the airport?

The payment card that was used to pay for the booking should be brought to the airport if you are the owner of the card and are travelling. However, if the payment card has expired since the booking was made and you have a new card, or you don't have the original card used for payment, please print out a copy of your flight itinerary from Manage my Booking.

I have now cancelled my credit card, but I had used that card to make a future flight booking, so how will I be able to access that booking?
You do not need to enter your payment card details when retrieving an existing booking via Manage My Booking on ba.com, so access to future booking is not restricted due to the cancellation of the payment card.
As of Wednesday 12th September, affected customers are being emailed with the following additional information

We deeply apologise for any worry and inconvenience this criminal activity has caused. For your reassurance, we’re offering you 12 months of free credit and identity monitoring services, provided by Experian, one of the UK’s leading Credit Reference agencies.

Your free ProtectMyID membership
To help you to monitor your personal information for certain signs of potential identity theft, we are offering you a free 12 month membership to Experian ProtectMyID. This service helps detect possible misuse of your personal data and provides you with identity monitoring support, focussed on the identification and resolution of identity theft.

Activating your free ProtectMyID membership
1. Ensure that you sign up for the service by 12 December 2018. Your code expires after this date.
2. Visit the ProtectMyID website to get started.
3. Click on ‘Join ProtectMyID’ (top right-hand side).
4. Enter your details along with the following activation code: XXXXXXXX
This code is unique to you and only available in this email – please keep this email for reference.

Once your membership is activated, you’ll have access to the following features:
1. Unlimited access to your Experian Credit Report.
2. Credit Alerting – an email or text to let you know when certain changes happen on your Experian Credit Report, such as the addition of a new credit search.
3. Access to an Identity Theft Resolution service if you do become a victim of fraud, where you’ll have a dedicated case worker who will support you in resolving fraud that has occurred.
4. If you are at higher risk of fraud, Experian can add protective Cifas registration to your credit report which can help prevent credit being taken in your name. The Cifas Protective Registration service places a flag alongside your name and personal details in the National Fraud Database. Companies and organisations who are signed up as members of the database will see you’re at risk and take extra steps to protect you.

If you have any questions regarding this service, then please contact Experian’s Customer Support Centre on 03444 818182*. They are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm and Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Note that the email from BA gives you a personal "Activation Code". However, when you get to the signup forms for ProtectMyID, you put the code into the second page of the sign up form in the "Promotional Code" field.
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BA Investigating Theft of Personal and Financial Data

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Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:16 am
  #286  
gms
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: South East, UK
Programs: BA Gold / GfL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,432
Originally Posted by cte
Also affected by this and got my email early this morning. Upgraded an outbound flight last week with Avios and of course needed to pay for the taxes using my saved card details. Curiously the payment failed through the website on two attempts so I ended up paying through the call centre.
Exactly the same scenario for me. Tried to upgrade an existing booking with Avios. Got past the payment stage to get a message saying the change could not be completed online and I needed to phone in. Which I did after it failed the second time.

What I am not clear about is whether the breach is limited to the card I attempted to use during that transaction or all my saved financial cards on BA.com. If the former it's not a big deal. If the latter then pretty much every card I have might be afftected!
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:16 am
  #287  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BAEC bronze
Posts: 52
BA placed a full page apology in today's Metro newspaper.

I just logged into my account and unfortunately I still have all my Avios!
BAW2 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:17 am
  #288  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Executive Club
Posts: 22
Originally Posted by Oaxaca


Does anyone have an answer for this query? Cheers.
i expect its only card details entered on the main BA.com or app payment pages that are at risk. Saved cards used or unused are not impacted, or cards entered for BA holidays / car hire / hotel only bookings.
Flight_risk is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:19 am
  #289  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,772
Originally Posted by bisonrav
Anyone know wheter on business bookings use the same payment system? If they do I may have a corporate card compromised via a nominee booking.

From my discussions with BA so far on this, no: you will get an email if you are one of the 380k (though they are drawing the net a bit wider since some credit card transactions are less than immediate), so keep an eye out for the specific "but you may have been affected" email. If a travel agent ticketed the item, your transaction usually is entirely internal to the TA, they have a separate billing process to BA and other airlines.

The cheek for me is even at my level I'm supposed to provide identity information in my emails to BA - well I'm now providing on the last digits of that information, they can call me if they wish, and I will be asking them for some identification questions too.
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corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:22 am
  #290  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 386
just hung up the phone with BA. First person I spoke to basically read out the statement and said "call your bank". Then spoke to a supervisor who was more empathetic and is trying to get more info on what specific info of mine has been taken. Meantime, called Amex and as one may imagine, all the lines are busy. Amex are going to be spitting nails this morning!

Last edited by Yeoman5; Sep 7, 2018 at 2:24 am Reason: adding extra info
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:25 am
  #291  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: West Sussex
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 897
I got an email this morning. But oddly I haven't made bookings on the BA website in the period affected?

I have made bookings previous to this using my BA AMEX. I guess I'll just keep an eye on my statement.
BillyBleach is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:26 am
  #292  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 561
deleted
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Last edited by markle; May 25, 2023 at 6:38 am
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Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:26 am
  #293  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA, U2+, SK, AF/KL, IHG, Hilton, others gathering dust...
Posts: 2,552
Originally Posted by Flight_risk


i expect its only card details entered on the main BA.com or app payment pages that are at risk. Saved cards used or unused are not impacted, or cards entered for BA holidays / car hire / hotel only bookings.
Not sure about that. All my bookings in this period were made with a saved card (on ba.com and over the phone with BA), and I got the email to say I'm affected. As I posted above, BA has advised me via Twitter that unused saved cards are not affected.
Oaxaca is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:28 am
  #294  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 5 miles from EMA
Programs: BD, BAEC Pleb, VS Pleb, Accor Pleb, HHonors Gold, Big White Season Pass
Posts: 5,904
I've just spoken to the ICO's office.

They are obvs aware and are making enquiries. They said that if you haven't been told the full scope of what's been taken, write to them (letter or email) requesting the information. If they don't respond within 1 calendar month, then individuals can lodge a compliant with the ICO. I suggest that we all do that anyway.
Tiger_lily is online now  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:28 am
  #295  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,772
I thought I would share this little gem, this is what the departmental mailboxes are chucking out this morning:
Auto-Response By (Administrator) (07/09/2018 09.17 AM)
Thank you for contacting British Airways Executive Club - it's good to hear from you.
In order to make sure we continue to securely protect your data, we’ve revised our validation procedures, allowing us to discuss your details or bookings with you. This ensures that your data continues to be held securely and we only discuss issues with you or a person you have given us the authority to act on your behalf.
For all your future account queries (including the email you’ve just sent to us), you will need to provide the following information in your enquiry before we can answer you:

• The registered postal address on your account
• Your date of birth or passport number
Please also make sure you've given us your account number.
We thank you so much for your support and cooperation with this.

We're usually quick to respond and will be in touch with you as soon as possible - you don't need to send your query again at any time. However, if you’re due to travel within the next 48 hours or if you need to talk to us urgently, you might like to consider calling through to your dedicated support team.

Kind regards
British Airways
corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:28 am
  #296  
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,428
Originally Posted by OverTheHorizon
Well, good luck with that, and let's hope you don't have a similar experience to a relative of mine:
  • multiple fraudulent purchases of electronics in Philippines totaling > Ł5k (while he was sat in London)
  • hit his card account just before the DD went out (for full balance) from his current account
  • current account went overdrawn and then his mortgage payment bounced incurring a penalty (and a black mark)
  • took weeks to sort out and while he did eventually get the unauthorised o/d fee and interest back, he wasn't ever made whole on the mortgage penalty
All in all it was a very stressful event for a young man with a family to support and just managing to balance the books each month...

I'm happy for you if you are comfortable enough to be blase, but not everyone is in the same position
And that's why i don't do DD on any of my cards. Careful management of due dates is all that's needed.
RDinJER likes this.
nufnuf77 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:29 am
  #297  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Effectively grounded
Programs: BA GGL for a little while longer
Posts: 844
On a related topic, came across this excellent article about the NotPetya cyberattack last year. Sobering stuff
OverTheHorizon is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:32 am
  #298  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: M&M Senator, BAEC GGL, Delta Platinum
Posts: 258
Originally Posted by Ldnn1
So has anyone actually got the promised email from BA yet?
I received it last night.
chrini1 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:34 am
  #299  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Executive Club
Posts: 22
Hi all.

On a PC now so I will try and write a clearer reply.

From what I have heard on here, and other sites, and from BA. It seems that the website and Mobile app bookings are at risk.

From my (slightly old) knowledge of BA. The common factor between the app and the main site is the single payment service, so I'd assume that is the prime suspect of what has been compromised (some sort of middleware attached to the payment service that processes and transmits the card details).

The shared payment service is used by flight bookings, post booking transactions for flight extra's, post booking change / upgrade booking, and redemption bookings for flights.
It is not used for BA Holidays bookings (flight and hotel / car, or car / hotel only), and is not used for Avios purchase, or Hotel etc. purchase using Avios.

Save cards are tokenised, and not entered at this point. So they are OK (although the CCV could have been taken). Paypal / Apple pay would not be at risk. Exec Card login details would not be at risk.

Main risk: Flight only / change booking / upgrade booking / seating / baggage / Flight only redemption where card details entered to book.
Low risk: BA Holidays, redemptions for non flight, balance payments to BA Holidays, purchase Avios

This is all based on my slightly out of date knowledge, but not a lot seems to have changed since I left (well not a lot has been improved).

Hope this helps.

I assume on the email side - they have probably just grabbed all bookings with a relevant booking date and sent out a blanket email. They may have included some which will not be affected (e.g. BA Holidays bookings), and I'd guess they have missed some that will be (e.g. purchase a seat in MMB), it will depend on whether the eCRM guys understand the issue well enough and can pull the relevant data quickly enough - I'd guess that they don't.
ThatT1Feeling, T8191 and cte like this.
Flight_risk is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 2:36 am
  #300  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,163
Originally Posted by Misco60
Alex Cruz has just stated on Radio 4 that the data stolen includes names, addresses, credit card numbers and three-digit CVC codes. But also that it is absolutely not the fault of British Airways, who are dedicated to data security.
Sorry. An organisation cannot pass the buck on security. They are responsible for the systems even if the do not operate them themselves. Poor.
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Tafflyer is offline  


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