Have you been hit by the Talk Talk leak?

What do the legal people say about Talk Talk?

I’ve contacted a couple of consumer law specialists about the Talk Talk leak.

One from Taylor Rose said:

“The consequences of the cyber-attack on Talk Talk customers are potentially huge and it is reported that customer’s sensitive information was not encrypted to the highest degree if that all.

“Talk Talk’s legal privacy policy states that, “Unfortunately we cannot guarantee the security of transmitting information via the internet. We have tried to create a secure and reliable website and mobile application for our users. However, we have no responsibility or liability for the security of personal information transmitted via the internet.”

“By entering into a contract with them you accept and agree to this policy, however given that this is the third cyber-attack they have been vulnerable to this year, it could be argued that they have not been proactive in ensuring sensitive information was properly dealt with and this could be seen as a potential breach on their behalf.”

Paul Tilley from QS Howlett Clarke solicitors in Brighton also said,

“If you find you have fraudulent activity on your bank account or you lose money through fraudsters contacting you and using the information they have gained from hacking Talk Talk then you may have a case.”

Watch out for fraudulent attacks

After the Talk Talk leak you might be the victim of fraud. Here are a few things to do:

If you are a Talk Talk customer, keep an eye on your bank account and check your credit file every now and then to see if someone has stolen your ID and taken out a loan in your name!

In fact, with Credit Angel you can check your credit file for free so it’s worth signing up now anyway.

It’s also a good idea to let your bank know that you think you may be a target because of the Talk Talk leak. Then they can keep an eye on your account.

Also be careful of people who call you up pretending to be Talk Talk (or another company) and say they need to access your computer to check things…or something like that.After attacks like this they often use your details to contact you by phone or email and try to gain access to your bank account that way.

If you do have any of these things, get in touch with Action Fraud and let them know. It helps them to gain a picture of what is happening to UK customers.

Just be careful out there!