SMBC Consumer Finance announced on November 5 that a third party gained unauthorized access to its card loan guarantee system and that personal data was sent outside it, according to a SmartScope summary of the company’s notice. Up to 320,118 individuals may be affected.
The data includes names, gender, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, driver’s license numbers, employment and annual income details, and contract information. Images of ID documents are not included.
The company detected the access on November 2, cut access to the system that day and temporarily suspended the guarantee system. It plans to notify affected customers, has not confirmed secondary damage, and warns of suspicious calls, emails and texts. The cause and the affected partner institutions have not been disclosed.