Sep 7, 2018, 8:15 am
Last edit by: tbm13
Are you trying to change your BA password and having difficulty doing so? For some suggestions, go to this wikipost.
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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:-
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:-
As of Wednesday 12th September, affected customers are being emailed with the following additional information
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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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.
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.
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).
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:-
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
BA Investigating Theft of Personal and Financial Data
Oct 10, 2018, 10:48 pm
#1321
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 275
They will cough up the 12-month fee for non UK credit monitoring service.
I have sent them request with supporting document, and granted 12 month equivalent cost (Transunion Hong Kong: HKD$280*12) within 2 days. Full fund received with 2 weeks after approval via Telegraph Transfer.
Oct 11, 2018, 2:19 am
#1322
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,900
This is an interesting one. BA does pass some booking details to Amex (Route, class, ticket number), as they are shown on my statement. So they must be part of the data file passed during payment or during order confirmation. I don't know if you can get date of travel from ticket number and last name but I assume there is a way. This is why I specifically asked BA to confirm whether flight details were lost in the breach and I haven't had an answer yet.
Last edited by ThatT1Feeling; Oct 11, 2018 at 2:30 am
Oct 11, 2018, 2:20 am
#1323
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,900
Neither am I, but the lack of any contrition or even acknowledgement without prejudice of the situation (and they've had over a month now) is tempting me to sign up. They're coming across as arrogant and not giving a damn about those who were affected.
Oct 11, 2018, 2:46 am
#1324
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,610
Ticket number and last name do allow booking details to be extracted - this used to be possible via Saudia for example, though last couple of times I tried this it seemed to be non-functional. So if these were leaked it's quite serious. I've been working on the assumption the information was just CC and address so far. Very important to clarify this point.
Oct 11, 2018, 2:49 am
#1325
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Ticket number and last name do allow booking details to be extracted - this used to be possible via Saudia for example, though last couple of times I tried this it seemed to be non-functional. So if these were leaked it's quite serious. I've been working on the assumption the information was just CC and address so far. Very important to clarify this point.
https://booking.qatarairways.com/nsp/views/retrievePnr.xhtml
Agree that it is important to have clarified.
Oct 11, 2018, 3:18 am
#1326
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 10,709
You don't yet know that. You may have replaced your card but you now have a fairly significant piece of your identity jigsaw out on the internet for the highest bidder to purchase.
Personally I'm not too interested in receiving money, but i want BA to pay the biggest price possible, as that is the only way they and companies like them will do anything to prevent it happening again.
Personally I'm not too interested in receiving money, but i want BA to pay the biggest price possible, as that is the only way they and companies like them will do anything to prevent it happening again.
Everything is hackable and even a rogue employee can leak info if they so wish.
There is a well known credit company which has a major office in Northampton, someone inside there has leaked my info to people, its always a risk. Some of the banking fraud, you get a phone call from the bank asking you to transfer money, some of that is internal fraudsters leaking your statements.
My words are not comforting but are aimed at being realistic.
Oct 11, 2018, 3:42 am
#1327
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
As I run our financial affairs using a small accounting program, i'm always aware of where money is and what its doing.
Oct 11, 2018, 5:47 am
#1328
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
I was at a loyalty fraud conference last year where I discovered that criminal gangs in China train people to apply for jobs in hotels on the front desks in order to access payment and loyalty info. It is a huge business.
Oct 11, 2018, 8:07 am
#1329
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,918
Oh, here we go...
Looks like data of Experian customers got very very close to being leaked.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/1...n_credit_pins/
Experian's website exposed to world-plus-dog the PINs needed to unlock frozen accounts, allowing crooks to potentially apply for loans and credit cards as their victims.
The credit-monitoring agency lets people freeze their account using a PIN that has to be submitted in when applying for stuff like loans: it's a mechanism that's supposed to stop fraudsters from exploiting stolen personal information, such as names and social security numbers, to obtain credit using someone else's identity.
However, according to financial advice site Nerdwallet this month, the credit monitoring agency had a glitch in its online account recovery process that, when exploited, could leak a stranger's recovery PIN. A miscreant could then use that number to reverse an account freeze and free up funds for plundering.
The (since fixed) bug would allow anyone who knew a person's name, address, social security number, and date of birth to have a PIN cod sent to an email address of the attacker's choosing. Recovery questions designed to prevent account theft could be circumvented by setting all answers to "none of the above."
"The form required an email address, which didn’t necessarily have to be the one associated with the person’s Experian account," Nerdwallet explained.
"Answering 'none of the above' to the security questions — even if some of the proffered answers were correct — gave access to that person’s PIN."
Armed with that PIN, the attacker would then be able to break the credit freeze and apple to open new accounts in the victim's name. This is particularly bad in the case of Experian, as one of the main reasons for setting up a credit freeze is to mitigate the leak of precisely the private information – social security number, and date of birth – used to retrieve the PIN.
In other words, if your personal info was leaked online by another site or service, and you set up a credit freeze to stop it being exploited, that same publicly available data could have been used to undo the freeze anyway.
Experian said its customers were never in any danger of having their personal information stolen via the PIN hack. Below is the company's statement to The Register in full today:
Though there is no indication that the flaw was ever actively abused, the findings will no doubt cause discomfort for the millions of people who have had to freeze their credit in recent years due to data breaches, including one at Experian in 2015 that involved the records of 15 million T-Mobile US customers. ®
Looks like data of Experian customers got very very close to being leaked.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/1...n_credit_pins/
PINs and needled: Experian site blabbed codes to unlock credit accounts for fraudsters
Hack to thaw account freezes reported, fixed, hopefully never exploited
By Shaun Nichols in San Francisco 10 Oct 2018 at 21:53Experian's website exposed to world-plus-dog the PINs needed to unlock frozen accounts, allowing crooks to potentially apply for loans and credit cards as their victims.
The credit-monitoring agency lets people freeze their account using a PIN that has to be submitted in when applying for stuff like loans: it's a mechanism that's supposed to stop fraudsters from exploiting stolen personal information, such as names and social security numbers, to obtain credit using someone else's identity.
However, according to financial advice site Nerdwallet this month, the credit monitoring agency had a glitch in its online account recovery process that, when exploited, could leak a stranger's recovery PIN. A miscreant could then use that number to reverse an account freeze and free up funds for plundering.
The (since fixed) bug would allow anyone who knew a person's name, address, social security number, and date of birth to have a PIN cod sent to an email address of the attacker's choosing. Recovery questions designed to prevent account theft could be circumvented by setting all answers to "none of the above."
"The form required an email address, which didn’t necessarily have to be the one associated with the person’s Experian account," Nerdwallet explained.
"Answering 'none of the above' to the security questions — even if some of the proffered answers were correct — gave access to that person’s PIN."
Armed with that PIN, the attacker would then be able to break the credit freeze and apple to open new accounts in the victim's name. This is particularly bad in the case of Experian, as one of the main reasons for setting up a credit freeze is to mitigate the leak of precisely the private information – social security number, and date of birth – used to retrieve the PIN.
In other words, if your personal info was leaked online by another site or service, and you set up a credit freeze to stop it being exploited, that same publicly available data could have been used to undo the freeze anyway.
Experian said its customers were never in any danger of having their personal information stolen via the PIN hack. Below is the company's statement to The Register in full today:
There is not and never was a risk to consumer credit data, personal information or the security of our systems. A credit freeze PIN does not enable access to a credit file or consumer PII. Experian deploys multiple layers of security, many of those not visible to consumers. While we are confident that our authentication is secure, we have taken additional steps to make the process even more secure. We continue to regularly monitor our systems, taking immediate action when warranted to strengthen data security.
Though there is no indication that the flaw was ever actively abused, the findings will no doubt cause discomfort for the millions of people who have had to freeze their credit in recent years due to data breaches, including one at Experian in 2015 that involved the records of 15 million T-Mobile US customers. ®
Oct 11, 2018, 8:42 am
#1330
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: BA GCH
Posts: 89
I'm sure I'm not the only one; after spending the best part of 2 weeks without use of my primary card, awaiting renewal (cancelled while on the road & annoyingly missed the arrival of the replacement having gone on another trip...) I'm still hitting the bumps; mobile parking apps needing updating, various subscriptions etc... this data breach really has been a pain.
No further contact from BA of late after the initial 2 emails. No attempts to show that they're actually sorry - not only for failing to keep my personal data safe but the day to day inconvenience since. As a result I haven't booked any personal flights since on BA; at this rate the GCH will slip away.
When a company I use treats me right, I'm happy to do business with them.
When not... just me?
No further contact from BA of late after the initial 2 emails. No attempts to show that they're actually sorry - not only for failing to keep my personal data safe but the day to day inconvenience since. As a result I haven't booked any personal flights since on BA; at this rate the GCH will slip away.
When a company I use treats me right, I'm happy to do business with them.
When not... just me?
Oct 11, 2018, 11:42 am
#1331
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 67
Thanks, it's been 9 days so far, and they are yet to reply to my complaint.
I'm claiming £400 for the flights and taxi, but am wondering whether it's worth pushing for compensation, and if so, what I should expect, if anything.
I'm not sure if Iberia are to blame at all for not letting me board due to not having the credit card, or whether all liability is on British Airway, including any EU261 claim?
I'm claiming £400 for the flights and taxi, but am wondering whether it's worth pushing for compensation, and if so, what I should expect, if anything.
I'm not sure if Iberia are to blame at all for not letting me board due to not having the credit card, or whether all liability is on British Airway, including any EU261 claim?
What do I do at 14 days? MCOL, CEDR? Wait?
Oct 11, 2018, 12:21 pm
#1332
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Perhaps it’s just me, but if it wasn’t for FT I would have forgotten all about this farrago that happened during a flurry of personal bookings using Amex.
Nothing has happened, I just had a couple of days of ‘pucker’ whilst abroad before relaxing again.
Am I abnormal?
Nothing has happened, I just had a couple of days of ‘pucker’ whilst abroad before relaxing again.
Am I abnormal?
Oct 11, 2018, 12:27 pm
#1333
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,212
- why was your CC flagged as potentially fraudulent and by whom?
- where in IB's conditions of carriage are written terms which permit IB to refuse check in? I have looked and cannot find anything that covers your situation but I am aware that airlines do occasionally block check-in until which point the flagged CC is manually 'validated'. Being told your ticket is effectively null is highly irregular and needs to be challenged. Did IB offer you a refund or provide you with a contact address for follow up?
- BA may take the position that you followed incorrect advice, or that you were not provided with adequate advice with regard to prepaid bookings charged to your credit card. BA cannot provide this advice, credit card companies can. Its a hard lesson but a salient one - if, for whatever reason, you cancel a credit card, you should hold on to the physical card for any flights, or hotel bookings prepaid using the card.
BA may well come back with a settlement offer but yours is a complicated matter, involving multiple third parties which may take time to resolve.
Best of luck
Oct 11, 2018, 2:37 pm
#1334
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 67
While I sympathise with your situation, I really do, i think you may be directing your complaint at the wrong party. At least at this stage. Looking at the facts you posted through the prism of cold, impartiality, there are a number of important issues which seem unresolved
Best of luck
- why was your CC flagged as potentially fraudulent and by whom?
- where in IB's conditions of carriage are written terms which permit IB to refuse check in? I have looked and cannot find anything that covers your situation but I am aware that airlines do occasionally block check-in until which point the flagged CC is manually 'validated'. Being told your ticket is effectively null is highly irregular and needs to be challenged. Did IB offer you a refund or provide you with a contact address for follow up?
- BA may take the position that you followed incorrect advice, or that you were not provided with adequate advice with regard to prepaid bookings charged to your credit card. BA cannot provide this advice, credit card companies can. Its a hard lesson but a salient one - if, for whatever reason, you cancel a credit card, you should hold on to the physical card for any flights, or hotel bookings prepaid using the card.
Best of luck
In regards to Iberia, I was sent an email a day before the flight departed with the following. I've also confirmation via Twitter at the time that there's nothing they could do and I must buy new tickets. If your booking is flagged as needing to be verified, and you don't have the card, you're not boarding.
Oct 11, 2018, 3:11 pm
#1335
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007