Virgin Media Data Breach Group Action

About The Virgin Media Data Breach

News of the Virgin Media data breach came to light on the evening of 5th March 2020 when the company informed customers that their personal data has been exposed.

We have launched a group action for compensation for victims with No Win, No Fee representation available for eligible clients.

It has been confirmed that the personal data for around 900,000 of their customers was left accessible online and was not secure. Virgin Media say that the breach did not stem from a cyberattack but an "incorrectly configured" database. The security flaw is said to have resulted from employee error and was identified by security researcher TurgenSec who alerted Virgin to the security flaw.

So far, investigations have revealed that the unsecure database has been accessed by an unknown third-party at least once over the 10-month period (between April 2019 and 28th February 2020) it has been accessible online. It remains to be seen if the data accessed has been used, or whether victims of the data breach are at risk from cybercriminals.

Are You Affected By The Data Breach?

Most of the victims affected by the Virgin Media data breach are understood to have TV or telephone landline accounts, with some Virgin Mobile customers also affected. The database may have included data for potential customers as part of referral schemes and promotions as well.

You should receive a breach notification from Virgin Media, which may be by email, text, or via the My Virgin Media portal to inform you if your data has been exposed. Customers are being warned to be vigilant about the risks of phishing, scam calls and identity theft.

Information exposed in the data breach includes:

• Names;
• Email addresses;
• Telephone numbers;
• Information about contracts in some cases.

In some cases, the contract information could link customers to explicit websites and pornography.

10 months is a considerable period for data to be left exposed. In the wrong hands, this information is more than enough for criminals and scammers to take advantage of the victims.

In the TalkTalk data breach - one of the over 45 data group and multi-party actions our lawyers are representing clients for - victims have been contacted by scammers posing as TalkTalk. The scammers have used information stolen in the breach to convince customers that they are TalkTalk dealing with various issues. As a result, some customers have been duped into handing money over to fraudsters, and this scenario could happen to Virgin Media customers if the data has fallen into the hands of tricksters.

Virgin Media Data Breach Compensation Action

If you have received confirmation that you have been affected by the leak, you may be eligible to join the Virgin Media data breach compensation action we have launched.

Depending on the number of people that sign-up for a legal case, this could turn into a group action or a multi-party action.

Victims could be entitled to claim compensation for:

• The distress caused by the loss of control of personal information;
• Losses and expenses, if applicable, which could include theft and fraud if any such incidents take place.

You do not have to have suffered a financial loss to be able to make a claim. A recent court ruling has also allowed victims in some cases to be able to claim even if no distress has been suffered.

As such, victims could be entitled to make a claim for data breach compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis. We have already been asked for help by victims affected and we may be able to help you too.

We believe that we can succeed with a legal case which is why we are offering No Win, No Fee representation. The GDPR means that there is a clear responsibility on Virgin Media to protect the data of their customers and avoid situations where it can be misused or exposed.

The data leak has been blamed on the negligence of an employee that has arisen from a failure to follow security protocols. We have been in the media and press a lot talking about the responsibilities that organisations have for ensuring that employees are adequately trained to avoid data leaks and cyberattacks. The negligence of an employee is ultimately the responsibility of the employer, which means that we can direct a claim for compensation to Virgin Media.

About The Data Leak Lawyers

The Data Leak Lawyers is a leading, specialist data breach compensation law firm that is representing victims in over 45 different data breach group and multi-party actions.

In 2019, the firm was appointed, by order of the High Court of Justice, to the Steering Committee for the first GDPR Group Litigation Order (GLO) action in England and Wales, the British Airways Group Action.

The firm has been at the forefront of this complex and niche area of law for the last five years; a great deal longer than other firms that have only recently started trying to tout for claims. Our experience speaks for itself, and thousands of people have come to our team for help and advice.

The Data Leak Lawyers are in contact with several victims of this latest breach with the view to launching a Virgin Media data breach compensation action immediately.

MEDIA LINKS:

Express: You may be owed £5,000 from Virgin Media: thousands could get a payout, will YOU? 

Daily Mail: VM face £4.5 BILLION payout if doesn't admit responsibility for data breach 

Your Money: Are you owed £5,000 for the Virgin Media data breach? 

Daily Mail: Virgin Media faces £4.5BILLION compensation payout after data breach 

The Sun: PORN COCK-UP VM faces £4.5bn fine after exposing customers’ PORN searches 

Birmingham Mail: Thousands of Brummies in line for £5k payout from Virgin Media data breach - which left porn users exposed

Derby Telegraph: Derbyshire customers affected by Virgin Media data breach 'could each get £5k' 

Info Security Magazine: Virgin Media Data Breach: What Can Customers Do?