Has Your Data Been Breached by Fat Face?

Customers and employees of clothing retailer Fat Face have had some of their personal details and card details exposed in what’s been described as a ‘sophisticated criminal attack’ by ‘an unauthorised third party’.

Chief Executive at Fat Face, Liz Evans, told those affected that they ‘identified some suspicious activity within its IT systems’ back in January. While it’s not yet known exactly how many Fat Face customers and employees have been affected, it appears only those based in the UK and Ireland have been contacted.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have been made aware of the data breach and are said to be ‘making enquiries’.

If you’ve been told by Fat Face that your personal information has been breached, then you might be eligible to make a GDPR compensation claim. Get in touch with our Data Breach Solicitors to see if you’ve got grounds for a claim.

What Personal Data Was Breached?

According to the email from Fat Face, both employee and customer personal information was exposed in the attack, as well as that of some former employees.

This includes:

• Names
• Email addresses
• Home addresses
• Credit card details including the last 4 digits of the credit card number and its expiration date

The retailer have confirmed that they’ve resolved the incident, but have offered affected customers and employees a free 12-month subscription to ‘Identify Plus’, a service provided by credit reporting agency, Experian. This gives them the option to check their credit report for free at any time, as well as alerting them of any changes.

The retailer have insisted that ‘payment card information cannot be misused for fraudulent transactions’ as only partial payment details were exposed. But understandably you may still be worried if you’re a Fat Face customer or employee.

What Steps Should I Take to Protect My Data?

Those affected have been encouraged to look out for phishing attempts and to regularly check their bank statements for any suspicious activity. If you notice anything unusual, make sure you contact your bank provider in the first instance.

But even if you’ve not been contacted directly by Fat Face to say you’ve been affected, it can’t hurt to take precautions to protect your personal information.

1. Change your passwords – As you may use your email address to log into different accounts, it’s a good idea to update your passwords on both your Fat Face account and any other important accounts you have.
2. Monitor your bank account – If your credit card details have been leaked, this could put you at risk of identity theft. While Fat Face have confirmed that only partial payment details have been exposed, you should still look out for suspicious activity on your bank account.
3. Report anything suspicious – If you do spot anything unusual, such as a phishing email, report this straight away to your bank provider.
4. Use our free Data Breach Checker to see if your data has been breached. If this is a recent data breach it won't be visible yet. 

Making a Data Breach Claim

Organisations such as Fat Face have a duty to protect your personal data and handle it responsibly under GDPR. Failing to do so can put you at risk of identity theft and fraud, so it’s really important to know if your personal data has been breached.

If you’ve had an email from Fat Face saying you’ve been affected by the security incident, and you’d like to know more about making a claim for compensation, get in touch with our Data Breach Solicitors for free initial legal advice.

We’ll take a look at your case and see if you’ve got grounds for a claim. We can often handle GDPR data breach claims on a No Win, No Fee basis – ask us for details.

Simpson Millar Solicitors are a national law firm with over 500 staff and offices in Bristol, Cardiff, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester.