What to do when personal data is exposed

Victims of data breaches can often feel helpless and anxious when they find out that their information has been leaked or stolen. When personal data is exposed, the impact can be dangerous, like we saw in the Virgin Media breach. As such, it is important that those affected know what actions they can take to protect themselves and seek justice for what has happened.

Beyond taking safety precautions, victims of data breaches may also be able to claim compensation from the third party that is responsible for their personal data being exposed. We believe that organisations that fail to protect private information and breach data protection law should always be held accountable, which is why we have been pursuing data breach claims and group actions since 2014.

One of our biggest lawsuits is our action here against Virgin Media on behalf of the victims of the company’s data breach. If you were affected by the Virgin Media data breach, you still have a chance to claim compensation, so sign up to get your case underway.

How to protect yourself when personal data is exposed

When personal data is exposed, victims can be made vulnerable to a wide variety of threats, many of which can be hard to prevent. In fact, there may be little preventative action to be taken after a data breach has occurred, and some victims must simply be aware of the risks they might encounter.

Potential consequences could include:

• Unauthorised transactions on your accounts;
• Identity theft (using your information to impersonate you and, often, to make purchases in your name);
• Data held for ransom;
• Phishing emails (fraudulent communication designed to obtain further personal data);
• Scam calls.

For victims of the Virgin Media data breach, email addresses, postal addresses and phone numbers were exposed. Even though financial details were not leaked, victims can still be at serious risks. For example, people could receive fraudulent emails and calls, and this can mean that victims are still vulnerable to financial loss. As such, people must be wary of any suspicious emails and never click on any links in such emails, and avoid handing over personal data via email, even if the source appears reputable.

Making a compensation claim

When personal data is exposed, it can also important to hold the organisation that allowed the data breach to happen to account.

In our view, Virgin Media’s negligence of data protection laws has been laid bare after they failed to take simple steps to secure a database. Victims of this incident could be eligible to hold Virgin Media to account for their breach of legal requirements in a compensation claim.

In a data breach claim, victims can be eligible to recover compensation for any distress suffered, and for any financial losses and expenses incurred, if applicable. This is because the GDPR can entitle you to claim for ‘material’ and ‘non-material damages’. While a claim may not reverse the risks you have been exposed to, it may help you to feel that some form of justice has been done. Further, your rights are enshrined in law.

Join the Virgin Media group action today

Personal data is exposed all too frequently, which is why it is so important to take action against organisations responsible for data breaches through negligence. If you were affected by the Virgin Media data breach, join our group action to recover compensation, and you could play your part in the collective fight for justice.

We are able to offer eligible clients legal representation on a No Win, No Fee basis. As such, what have you got to lose?

The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.