Payday loan site Wonga hit by security breach affecting 270,000 in UK and Poland

Wonga.com -- the payday loan website -- is investigating a security breach which exposed the personal details of tens of thousands of customers. Up to 270,000 customers in the UK and Poland are believed to have been affected by the breach.

The incident happened last week, but Wonga initially played down its significance. However this weekend the company determined that customer data was involved, including names, addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers and sort codes and started an investigation.

Wonga says that it is "urgently investigating illegal and unauthorised access to the personal data of some of its customers in the UK and Poland," but does not believe that customers' loan accounts have been accessed. Despite this, the company is warning its customers to remain vigilant.

In a statement, the company says:

We are working closely with authorities and we are in the process of informing affected customers. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Having determined that customer data had been accessed, Wonga started the process of contacting customers via text and email, and is offering phone support to anyone who is concerned.

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