Arnold Clark customers are being warned after the company was targeted by hackers.
The cyber attack unfolded on the evening of December 23, 2022.
An investigation launched by Arnold Clark revealed at the end of January that attackers were able to steal copies of data held by the company.
In emails seen by the Glasgow Times, dated Tuesday, February 14, some customers in Glasgow were advised that their personal data was at risk.
Arnold Clark revealed that "unsigned copies of finance agreements" from 2019 and earlier are likely to have been taken.
The customer data within these documents include names, addresses, vehicle registration details, and banking information.
Those who have had their data stolen are at a high risk of attempted fraud.
A spokesperson for Arnold Clark said: "We have been working closely from the outset with a number of external expert consultants to contain the incident, analyse the damage and mitigate its effects.
"Our understanding is that some personal data has been extracted by the hackers who carried out the cyber-attack.
"Our focus since the incident occurred has been to establish, as a priority, the extent and nature of the data which has been extracted.
"Our cyber-security team has advised that unsigned copies of finance agreements, dated 2019 and earlier, may have been stolen during the attack. We believe that your personal data may have been contained within these files, comprising your name, address details, vehicle registration number, and bank account and sort code details.
"Our investigations are continuing and, should there be any update in this regard, we will notify you immediately.
"Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to minimise any risk to you from this incident."
The company has taken steps to ease the impact of the attack, offering customers a free two-year service from Experian that monitors suspicious activity involving personal data.
They have also warned that customers may be at higher risk of being targeted by phishing attacks.
A spokesperson added: "Our investigations have been ongoing and are continuing.
"Due to the nature of this attack, it is extremely difficult to accurately identify what has been stolen."
Arnold Clark has advised at-risk customers to take the following steps to keep their data safe:
- Check your bank statement regularly for any unusual payments that you do not recognise.
- Check your credit report regularly for newly opened accounts or credit searches that you do not recognise.
- Use strong passwords and change them regularly. Where possible, try to keep them at least eight characters long and use numbers, upper case, lower case and symbols.
- Activate CreditLock (see below) to prevent potential fraudulent applications
- Never give out personal details over the phone unless you are sure who you are speaking to.
- If you think you have been a victim of fraud you should:
- (in Scotland) report it to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 600 or to Police Scotland on 101
- (in the rest of the UK) report it to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, on 0300 123 2040.
More information can be found here.
