Thousands of electricity customers might have to cancel payments after data breach

Electric Ireland has written to thousands of customers across Ireland who may have had their data compromised. The energy provider has written to 8,000 households to advise them on the matter. Some may have to cancel their direct debit payments as a result.

In a statement, Electric Ireland said it is "aware that an employee of a company working on our behalf may have inappropriately accessed a small proportion of our 1.1m residential customer accounts leading to the potential misuse of personal and financial information.

"Our investigations have established that approximately 8,000 customer accounts may have been compromised. Electric Ireland has written to all potentially impacted customers to make them aware of the issue and provide advice and instructions on what actions to take to mitigate against the risk of potential financial fraud. Customers who have not received a letter from Electric Ireland do not need to take any action. 

"This issue is currently under investigation and Electric Ireland is liaising with An Garda Síochána and the Data Protection Commissioner, and as such the details of this case must remain confidential.

"Electric Ireland fully appreciates the gravity of this issue and the concern and inconvenience it will create for those affected customers. Customers affected by this issue, who may have experienced any fraudulent activity on their financial accounts in relation to data they gave to Electric Ireland, have been asked to contact the company directly.

"Electric Ireland will inform An Garda Síochána who are managing this investigation. Customers are also advised to contact their bank," they concluded.