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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, 3:40 am
  #346  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 386
BA told me categorically that email addresses had not been part of the data theft. High-vis Cruz stated on Radio 4 that they had.
Yeoman5 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:42 am
  #347  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 34
Angry

Originally Posted by Yeoman5
BA told me categorically that email addresses had not been part of the data theft. High-vis Cruz stated on Radio 4 that they had.
its getting better and better ¬_¬ it looks like they didnt even bother to distribute the facts of the matter to their customer service team
alanjhett is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:44 am
  #348  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Executive Club
Posts: 22
I wouldn't use the "did I get an email" as a check for whether your card details are at risk.

That would assume that BA know exactly whose data was taken, and I don't think they do - simply that something was harvesting payment details during this time period.

The email targeting may have missed certain groups - for example redemptions, or purchase an extra bag, change a booking etc. They also stagger email sends as they can only handle so much volume at once.

If you entered any payment details via the normal BA payment pages during the period then assume you are at risk.
oxtailsoup and Silver Fox like this.

Last edited by Flight_risk; Sep 7, 2018 at 3:49 am
Flight_risk is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:45 am
  #349  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: GGL/CCR
Posts: 1,899
Originally Posted by binman
The OCI have a handy template letter which people can use to complain directly to BA. The only problem is that as they have not told us who their DPO is in the email




Dear [Sir or Madam / name of the person you have been in contact with]

Information rights concern
[Your full name and address and any other details such as account number to help identify you]

I am concerned that you have not handled my personal information properly.

[Give details of your concern, explaining clearly and simply what has happened and, where appropriate, the effect it has had on you.]

I understand that before reporting my concern to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) I should give you the chance to deal with it.

If, when I receive your response, I would still like to report my concern to the ICO, I will give them a copy of it to consider.

You can find guidance on your obligations under information rights legislation on the ICO’s website (www.ico.org.uk) as well as information on their regulatory powers and the action they can take.

Please send a full response within one calendar month. If you cannot respond within that timescale, please tell me when you will be able to respond.

If there is anything you would like to discuss, please contact me on the following number [telephone number].


Yours faithfully
[Signature]
BA were still compromised until Wednesday night. Put the pitch forks away and let them get on with analysis of logs and audit. This stuff can sometimes take weeks to fully get to the bottom of.

If you are concerned then do the usual password changes etc.
teledude is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:46 am
  #350  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Netherlands
Programs: BA Gold; Flying Blue Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 481
Originally Posted by oxtailsoup
Just called HSBC Premier. They offered two options. One is to place the card on hold until I feel happy to unlock it again. Second option is to kill the card completely and send a replacement.

I have chosen option two. Surely option one is flawed as the crims could use this card data at any time in the future.. especially with the cvv code!

Utterly pissed off with this. I have two credit cards, both are compromised. I’m flying on holiday in the morning to the Indian Ocean for a week (BA!) and have no credit card to settle the hotel bill. Will have to use a debit card to pay a pretty lumpy bill at the end.
I'm not sure I understand why you would cancel your credit card then. You might as well have told HSBC not to have locked your credit card, used that to pay your hotel bill instead of a debit card and should you credit card be compromised, HSBC would reimburse you, cancel your credit card and you'd still have your debit card as a backup.

There seems to be a huge opportunity for communication from card issuers to help cardholders understand their rights. Unless your card has been used fraudulent, I don't think it is necessary to cancel cards
silonic is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:48 am
  #351  
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver (for now)
Posts: 1,000
So what’s the view on appropriate Avios credit for this one?

Had the email saying I was impacted, no loss to date.
Will100 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:50 am
  #352  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Thames Valley
Programs: BAEC, LHM&M, and even a dusty KLFB!
Posts: 893
Originally Posted by BertieBadger
The payment processor securely stores the card number, and then hands out a unique "token" to BA which is stored and used to represent the card in future transactions. This is the "tokenisation" process that people have referred to. This token cannot be converted to the card number by anyone except the payment processor (at least in theory).
Thanks - that makes sense. Though from a commercial point of view, it does rather tie you to your existing payment provider as a merchant, unless you want all your customers to have to re-enter their data!
DrBernardo is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:54 am
  #353  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 386
Extract from the BBC interview:

What data was stolen?
"It was name, email address, credit card information - that would be credit card number, expiration date and the three digit [CVV] code on the back of the credit card," said BA boss Mr Cruz.
BA insists it did not store the CVV numbers. This is prohibited under international standards set out by the PCI Security Standards Council.
Since BA said the attackers also managed to obtain CVV numbers, security researchers have speculated that the card details were intercepted, rather than harvested from a BA database.
Yeoman5 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:58 am
  #354  
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 8
Got the email too. Made three transactions to BA in the period so definitely got me lol. Problem is flying tomorrow (not BA ironically) but need the card for hotel/car payments etc. Spoke to CC company who agreed to keep it active and I'll monitor it daily for any supicious transactions. Then will close ASAP. Really crap of BA and a pretty unsatisfactory email from them tbh. Will see how this pans out.
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gazzer666 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 3:59 am
  #355  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 320
Although I got the email last night - I am pretty certain the 3 bookings I made during the affected period were from 'my saved cards' - so I wasn't typing any new card information in fresh, and just the CVV number each time. Has it been clarified if using stored card data was affected by this theft?
sb1982 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 4:00 am
  #356  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,575
AmEx is great - I can enable the phone app to notify me each time the card is used. My Nationwide Visa, on the other hand, doesn't list any transactions until they've cleared pending, which means it usually takes 3-4 days before anything shows. I'm sure the card issuers would suffer less fraud if they gave us the information we need to see for ourselves.
adrianlondon is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 4:05 am
  #357  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Netherlands
Programs: BA Gold; Flying Blue Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 481
Originally Posted by alpenlupe
If you cancel your credit card and then down the line cancel the booking made with that card can you get the refund applied to a different card?
If a new card is issued, it's against the same account. So yes, if you cancel a card (or a card expires) and you cancel a booking, the refund is made to the original card but your card issuer will link it to your account and you'll see the credit against the new card number
adrianlondon and alpenlupe like this.
silonic is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 4:07 am
  #358  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 24
Re: Natwest Credit Cards - thanks to the poster upthread who posted a summary of their convo with customer service, saved me a call to them.

In case its useful to any other Natwtest CC customer their is a handy feature in there app (Android but I assume iOS too) to 'Lock' your card under 'Managed my card' if thats an option for you if you have an alternative, or gives some piece of mind.

<rant>
Am kicking myself for not using PayPal with BA every time, as BA have demonstrated they are not an organisation that can be trusted with IT again & again. We as consumers need to demand that companies stop storing credit cards details themselves, they should be utilising payment services like Apple/Amazon/Google Pay & Pay Pal whatever. The Engineers at many of these tech companies make multiples of BA Captains Salaries for a reason. Put another way, much as I want the best minds in Aerospace to design the airplane I fly on, I want to best minds in Technology to design the payment systems. Too many cost-cutting-degree-in-humanities-consultant-Hi-I'm-Bobs who thinks outsourcing critical business functions to Bachelors grads at Wipro from 3rd string Indian IT Schools is a sound strategy.
</rant>
yojimbo26 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 4:09 am
  #359  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold / Hilton Diamond / IHG Diamond Ambassador / Marriot Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,527
Originally Posted by teledude
BA were still compromised until Wednesday night. Put the pitch forks away and let them get on with analysis of logs and audit. This stuff can sometimes take weeks to fully get to the bottom of.

If you are concerned then do the usual password changes etc.
No,this is a self inflicted wound by a company with a long history of IT failures and contempt for customers. The law is clear and they have failed to follow the regulations. In particular they have failed to provide the absolute minimum information in their email to those affected which should have included.

"What information must we provide to individuals when telling them about a breach?

You need to describe, in clear and plain language, the nature of the personal data breach and, at least:
  • the name and contact details of your data protection officer (if your organisation has one) or other contact point where more information can be obtained;
  • a description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach; and
  • a description of the measures taken, or proposed to be taken, to deal with the personal data breach and including, where appropriate, of the measures taken to mitigate any possible adverse effects."
Given their size and resources the email sent is unacceptable. Only by pushing back will anything change.
binman is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2018, 4:09 am
  #360  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC, Eurostar
Posts: 3,285
Originally Posted by FoxtrotOscar


Just a personal observation but of all my cards, Amex seems to be the most susceptible to fraudulent transactions...
They also have a phone app that can notify you for every transaction that's made on the card, which is a good way to check that the card wasn't used elsewhere.

Amex is an obvious target, because they're usually cards held by higher spenders, on average. My first year with a platinum card, someone tried to buy 100-grands worth of luxury watches, which Amex blocked, and I had my replacement card within 48 hours.
alex67500 is offline  


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