Fraud from cyberattacks – a real risk

People affected by data breaches then falling victim to fraud from cyberattacks is a real risk. This threat is not to be ignored, and it does happen.

Victims of the Virgin Media data exposure are not necessarily at risk of fraud from cyberattacks but could be at risk from the leak of their personal information. The data for some 900,000 people was left exposed for a prolonged period of time, and it was accessed by an unknown party.

It is hard to know what can happen to exposed information, but it can end up on the dark web where it can then be abused. The risks are real, and data breach victims need to be wary.

The risks of fraud from cyberattacks

There is a real risk of fraud from cyberattacks. One of the core reasons as to why cybercriminals engage in hacking into databases to steal information is to make money from it. Sometimes, this can mean abusing it themselves, but it can also mean selling the exposed data to criminals and fraudsters who can then try to misuse it.

It can only take a little information for fraudsters to try to cause real harm. They can contact people to pass themselves off as legitimate companies by using stolen information, which is something that happened after the TalkTalk cyberattack of 2015. People affected by that hack were contacted by fraudsters who knew their personal details and even account information, and some were able to convince their victims to inadvertently give them access to their bank accounts.

Criminals can be clever in the ways that they work, and they can make every effort to be as convincing as possible. People do fall for scams, so victims of data breaches do need to be very wary of the risks and threats that they may face.

In terms of the Virgin Media data breach group action

It is not necessarily fraud from cyberattacks that we need to worry about in respect of the Virgin Media data leak, but more possible fraud from information exposure. The data was leaked in this case in that it had been left exposed online for a period of 10 months before the security issue was identified. The issue was only picked up by a third-party security researcher.

Fraud from cyberattacks can be common, but cybercriminals do not always have to hack into networks or devices to be able to commit fraud. They can scour the internet like security researchers do and look for exposed information to then abuse. Given that we know at least one unknown third party is understood to have accessed the information exposed in this case, data may already be in the hands of cybercriminals.

Start your Virgin Media compensation case now

If you have not yet started your Virgin Media data breach compensation case, what are you waiting for?

We are working for thousands of victims affected by this leak right now on a No Win, No Fee basis. With this amazing way of working, what do you have to lose in starting a case?

It is really easy to get your claim set up and started without delay. All you need to do is sign up for a case by completing a few forms here now.

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