SPANISH bank Santander has been hit by hackers, with all staff and millions of customers affected.
Bank details of “30 million” customers are believed to be on sale on the dark web, just weeks after the bank confirmed a data breach.
Criminal hacker group Shiny Hunters has allegedly stolen the data of 30 million customers in Spain, Chile, and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former staff of the banking group.
It’s understood that no UK customers are affected in the hack.
According to X account “Dark Web Informer”, Shiny Hunters is selling the data for £1.57million.
Around 28 million credit card numbers and six million account numbers and balances are allegedly up for grabs.
On May 14, Santander released a statement that read: “We recently became aware of unauthorised access to a Santander database hosted by a third-party provider.
“We immediately implemented measures to contain the incident, including blocking the compromised access to the database and establishing additional fraud prevention controls to protect affected customers.
“Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed.
“Customer data in all other Santander markets and businesses are not affected.”
The bank added: “We apologise for the concern this will understandably cause and are proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly.
“We have also notified regulators and law enforcement and will continue to work closely with them.”
Santander has 14million UK customers and operates out of 444 branches nationwide.
It comes just days after Shiny Hunters claimed to have stolen personal information belonging to 560 million people who have bought tickets from the platform Ticketmaster, as well as its parent company Live Nation.
The hackers are allegedly threatening to sell the trove of data to criminals unless the company pays a £400,000 ransom.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation are yet to confirm the security breach.
Details the hackers claim to have obtained include full names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, ticket sales and event details, order information, and partial payment card data, according to Hackread.
Cyber experts have also warned customers to take action now in case.
Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor at cybersecurity firm ESET says the first thing people should do is change their account’s password.
But he also warns users to look out for follow-up emails claiming to be from Ticketmaster asking for information.
“The amount of highly personal data in this extremely large breach makes this extra worrying for all those involved,” he said.
“Ticketmaster is choosing not to pay the ransom which is slowly becoming more common as aftermath clean-ups improve.
“However, this is not the first time they have fallen victim to a large-scale breach which will question how they handle their customer data.
“As the sensitive information is now up for sale, those affected must remain extra careful, change their passwords and steer clear of follow-up emails, texts and calls claiming to be from companies and requesting information.
“High profile data breaches can have long-lasting effects on customers, including identity theft and financial fraud.”
The Australian Government said Thursday it was investigating the claims.
ShinyHunters have previously sold data confirmed to have been stolen from US telecoms firm AT&T.
How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
- If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool.
REPORTS SCAMS
If you think you have been a victim of a scam, you should report it as soon as possible.
There is no guarantee you’ll get your money back, but banks will often compensate you if you can show you did not know the money would leave your account.
You can forward scam emails to [email protected].
If you notice a website that doesn’t look quite right, you can also report it to the National Cyber Security Centre by visiting www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-this-website/report-scam-website.
You should also contact your provider and report it to Action Fraud, which will give you a crime reference number.
You can do this online by visiting actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
If you’re in Scotland, report a scam through Advice Direct Scotland online by visiting www.consumeradvice.scot. You can also report scams to Police Scotland on 101.
If you need further help, contact Citizens Advice Scams Action by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/get-help-with-online-scams or calling 0808 223 1133.
