British Airways data breach – how many customers are affected by the hack and how can you check your details are safe?
Hundreds of thousands of BA customers have had their personal and financial data stolen in a major website and app hacking
A MAJOR investigation has been launched after the bank details of hundreds of thousands of British Airways’ customers were stolen.
Here is a breakdown of what’s happened and how you can check if you were affected.
How many customers have had their data stolen?
Around 380,000 British Airways customers’ bank details and personal data was stolen after the airline’s website was hacked.
British Airways confirmed the data stolen related to customers who made online and app bookings between August 21 and September 5.
The stolen data included personal and financial information, but not travel or passport details.
What has the airline said?
The airline issued a statement that said: "British Airways is investigating, as a matter of urgency, the theft of customer data from its website, ba.com and the airline's mobile app.
"From 10.58pm on August 21 until 9.45pm on September 5 2018 inclusive, the personal and financial details of customers making bookings on ba.com and the airline's app were compromised.
"The breach has been resolved and our website is working normally.
"British Airways is communicating with affected customers and we advise any customers who believe they may have been affected by this incident to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their recommended advice.
"We have notified the police and relevant authorities."
Alex Cruz, British Airways' chairman and chief executive, said in a statement: "We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused.
"We take the protection of our customers' data very seriously."
What should you do if your details have been stolen?
If you made a booking with British Airways between August 21 and September 5 then your bank details are likely to be at risk. Here's what you need to do:
- Check your account for any payments that have been made without you knowing about them,
- Contact your bank or credit card provider if you think that your details have been compromised
- Change your online passwords
- Be wary of any suspicious emails or phone calls claiming to be from British Airways in case they are from scammers trying to take advantage of the situation.
LATEST ON BRITISH AIRWAYS
What other customer relation problems has the airline faced recently?
In 2017 a computer meltdown forced British Airways to cancel 726 flights over three days.
It left 75,000 passengers stranded and lost the company around £100million.
Its chief executive said at the time it would take steps to ensure such an incident never happened again.
But in July this year another IT issue at BA led to further flight cancellations and delays, affecting more than 10,000 passengers.
The month before, more than 2,000 BA passengers had their tickets cancelled because the prices were too cheap.
BA apologised for the error on flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai, but customers said they were angry their tickets were not being honoured.