Data breaches and payment card fraud

It is unsurprising that bank account information and credit or debit card details are among the most sought-after types of data for cybercriminals. This is due to financial motives many hackers have when they carry out cybercrimes. Payment card fraud is, therefore, one of the most significant risks of data breaches, and can occur in many different ways.

If fraudsters gain access to your money, it can be very difficult to recover stolen funds directly. At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we aim to hold the other guilty party to account in data breach cases, as a leading firm of data breach solicitors. In many instances, it is not just the criminal who is responsible for a data breach, but a third-party organisation may also be at fault if they failed to sufficiently protect personal data, and that is how criminals gained access to the details for you.

Data breaches and the risks of payment card fraud

The negligence of businesses and organisations is frequently revealed to be a contributing factor in data exposure and subsequent fraud. Existing system insecurities often give criminals a much easier route into an organisation’s private databases, and then they can abuse the information that they can access illegally.

For example, in the infamous Equifax data breach, blame fell on the company’s head for ignoring insecurities that they were all too aware of. The result was the exposure of information relating to almost 700,000 UK customers, and around 145 million US customers.

The breach involved partially-redacted credit card details for some victims, but even without these details, fraudsters were provided with sufficient information to target people for fraud.

Similarly, in the British Airways data breach, card numbers and expiry data information were compromised. In addition, CVV codes on the back of the cards were also exposed.

We are taking forward claims for both the Equifax and the British Airways data breaches, so join our group actions if you think you have a claim to make using the links.

Tackling the risks of data breaches

If you believe you may be at risk of payment card fraud due to a data breach, you should immediately contact your bank for advice. It may be necessary to cancel any affected cards or change PIN numbers.

In addition, data breach victims should always be on the lookout for any fraudulent contact that they may receive. Many fraudsters will use contact details to send out scam messages such as phishing emails, which they can then use to try and harvest more information from victims.

However, no amount of risk management may take away the stress and anxiety many victims feel after data breaches. Payment card fraud is often a feared event, and with good reason. Even if it does not occur, the risk of it can be the subject of a great deal of anxious anticipation.

Claiming for a data breach

If you have been worried about, or affected by, payment card fraud following a data breach, you may be eligible to claim compensation for any harm caused to you.

In accordance with important data protection law, it is possible to recover compensation for both distress and financial losses, to make sure no form of suffering is disregarded. As such, you do not need to have lost actual money to be able to claim.

At Your Lawyers – The Data Leak Lawyers – we are currently working on large data breach group actions against companies including Equifax, British Airways and Virgin Media. We also represent people for individual cases as well, representing thousands of clients.

Our experience and expertise in this area of law means that we are fully equipped to fight for the highest possible compensation amounts for our clients. Contact us today for free, no-obligation about your potential claim.

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