The Ritz suffers data breach after hackers pose as staff

London’s The Ritz is investigating a potential data breach that saw hackers “potentially compromise” the personal data of guests visiting the five-star establishment.

On 12 August, cyber criminals pretending to be Ritz employees managed to obtain an unknown amount of restaurant guests’ personal data, including information on their meal bookings. The scammers allegedly made phone calls to the guests asking to provide a confirmation of the reservations by sharing their bank details.

Using the obtained payment details, the cyber criminals then attempted to purchase around £1,000-worth of products from Argos. The BBC reported that, after her card was declined, one of the victims was again contacted by the scammers - this time pretending to be a representative from her bank. He then asked the woman to provide him with the security code sent to her mobile phone which was meant to authorise the transaction.