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Monday, April 10, 2017

Wonga data breach may affect '245,000 UK customers'

Wonga is contacting 245,000 customers in the UK and another 25,000 in Poland following a data breach in which hackers gained access to personal information.

The payday lender said it had called in police after realising data had been accessed on Friday last week.

Wonga said it was likely to include customer account numbers, bank sort codes, addresses and the last four digits of users' bank cards.

It apologised and urged customers to watch out for any "unusual activity" arising from the "illegal and unauthorised" activity, but said it did not believe the limited information left people at risk of theft.

A spokeswoman said: "We are working closely with authorities and we are in the process of informing affected customers.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."

The data breach is a blow to the company as it strives to rebuild its business in the wake of a string of scandals and a regulatory crackdown in the UK market.

A flexible loan product has been launched as it seeks to diversify away from the short-term lending activity that sparked political and public controversy.

In 2015, it was ordered by the City watchdog to pay more than £2.5m in compensation to 45,000 customers who were sent letters purporting to be from law firms but which in fact did not exist.

Wonga's losses have totalled nearly £120m in the last two years.

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