MoneyGram confirms ‘breach of customer data’

MoneyGram has now officially confirmed that hackers stole its customers’ personal information and transaction data during a cyberattack last month, when it was forced to take systems offline in response to the issue. MoneyGram serves over 50 million people in more than 200 countries and territories each year.

In a statement, the US money transfer giant said that an unauthorized third party accessed and acquired customer data during the cyberattack on September 20. The nature of the cyberattack remains unknown, and it sparked a week-long outage that resulted in the company’s website and app falling offline.

MoneyGram said its investigation is in its early stages and the company is working diligently to determine which consumers were affected by this issue. Although, it has yet not revealed the number of customers affected by the incident.

The stolen customer data includes names, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, dates of birth, and national identification numbers. The data also includes a limited number of Social Security numbers and government identification documents, such as driver’s licenses and other documents that contain personal information, such as utility bills and bank account numbers.

The types of stolen data will vary by individual, said MoneyGram, adding that the stolen data also included transaction information, such as dates and amounts of transactions, and, “for a limited number of consumers, criminal investigation information (such as fraud).”

The company's website notice and FAQs for affected consumers provide recommendations regarding steps those consumers can take to help protect their data. MoneyGram has also set up a dedicated call centre in this regard.

MoneyGram said it regrets any concern this issue may cause its consumers and takes its obligation to safeguard personal information very seriously. The company will continue to work hard to support consumers and deliver the services they expect from MoneyGram, it said.

With over 50 million users who send more than $200 billion a year, MoneyGram is second only to Western Union among the world's international money transfer services. The incident has already harmed the US firm’s business, prompting the UK's Post Office to decide against extending a long-term deal.