Play.com, one of the largest online retailers of consumer goods, has been hit by a major security breach, and is warning customers that their personal data has been compromised.
Only yesterday, companies were warned that the average clean-up bill for a data breach is nearly £2m. But Play.com denies any involvement in the blunder, instead blaming a third party on its marketing communications team. It advises customers to remain vigilant online and keep personal information securely.
In an email to customers, Play.com said: “We are emailing all our customers to let you know that a company that handles part of our marketing communications has had a security breach. Unfortunately this has meant that some customer names and email addresses may have been compromised. We take privacy and security very seriously and ensure all sensitive customer data is protected.”
It continued: “Please be assured this issue has occurred outside of Play.com and no other personal customer information has been involved. Please be assured we have taken every step to ensure this doesn’t happen again and accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused some of you.”
The company reminds customers that it will not ask for passwords, bank account details or credit card numbers, and to forward suspicious activity to privacy@play.com.
Specific details of the breach have not yet been revealed, but the fact that it is sending out emails would suggest that it is a widespread problem.
The move is also likely to trigger an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office, as companies are required by law to report any breach of personal information.
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