In response to a major outcry by customers of one of the UK’s leading bookmakers, Ladbrokes, with regard to a recent security breach, Ladbrokes have given an assurance that their financial details will not be jeopardized.
This reassurance was given after the Daily Mail reported that The Mail on Sunday newspaper had been offered confidential records by a mystery man with an Australian accent of millions of British gamblers who bet with Ladbrokes, including customers’ home addresses, customer account numbers, dates of birth, details of their gambling history, phone numbers and email addresses. There were no details of banking and credit card details offered. The man gave information on 10,000 of Ladbrokes’ customers and offered the newspaper access to Ladbrokes’ database of 4.5 million customers from the UK and around the world.
After being alerted by the newspaper group, Ladbrokes handed the customer files to the Information Commissioner’s Office who began immediate investigations. The police were called in and Ladbrokes was able to reassure its’ customers over the weekend that their credit card details, passwords and other financial information was safe.
The man, who only gave his name as “Daniel”, claimed that he represented a company named DSS Enterprises which is based in Melbourne, Australia. However, Dinitha Subasinghe who runs the company denied any involvement in the theft of the data.
Head of PR at Ladbrokes, Ciaran O’Brian said: We have been informed that a person connected to our organisation has offered certain details from a customer database to The Mail on Sunday.
"This is a criminal act and we are working with the police, the ICO and the newspaper to identify and apprehend the culprit.”
"We are in the process of contacting customers to apologize for this breach in security and to reassure them that everything is being done to protect their personal information.”
"Importantly, we do not believe that customer accounts or banking data can be accessed."