Below are a few very common situations that could happen to anyone, even those who are very careful:

• An online shop where we shopped a few years ago is hacked – customers’ addresses and telephone numbers are leaked.
• A medical clinic has a poorly secured system – someone copies patients’ data.
• A courier company loses its database – addresses and parcel details end up in the public domain.
• A bank or insurer reports a ‘security incident’ – some customers’ data has been accessed by third parties.
• A social media platform changes its security settings – old passwords end up online.

In each of these situations, we have done nothing wrong. The problem lies with the company.

Why are data breaches dangerous?

Because data from breaches do not disappear. It may:

• remain accessible online for a very long time,
• be sold to other fraudsters,
• be used several months or years later,
• be used to carry out highly convincing scams (“Your details are in the system; they match”).

That is why it is important to respond, rather than to look for someone to blame.