MoneyGram, a financial services and money transfer company, recently revealed a data breach following a cyber attack in late September. They took over a week to inform customers about the breach.
The trouble started with a network outage on September 20, and three days later, it became clear that a cyber incident had occurred. Reports from Bleeping Computer indicate that the attack wasn’t ransomware but may have resulted from a social engineering ploy aimed at MoneyGram’s IT helpdesk. This incident affected operations globally and led to the cancellation of a long-standing contract with the UK Post Office for money transfer services—a significant setback for many, especially in lower-income countries where families depend on remittances.
On October 7, MoneyGram confirmed that unauthorized access to customer information happened on September 27. They stated they were still investigating the breach. “When we detected the issue, we took steps to contain it, including shutting down certain systems,” they said, also mentioning that they brought in external cybersecurity experts and coordinated with law enforcement. Their systems are now operating normally.
MoneyGram urged customers to watch for fraud and identity theft, advising them to review account statements and stay alert for suspicious communications. The compromised data includes names, contact information, birthdays, national ID numbers, and even bank account details.
While MoneyGram has not specified where the affected customers are located, they are offering two years of identity protection and credit monitoring at no cost.
The incident highlights the effectiveness of social engineering attacks. While there’s no direct link between MoneyGram’s case and other recent breaches, experts point to the growing sophistication of such attacks. Dane Sherrets from HackerOne noted that as AI technology advances, employees could become even bigger targets. Firms must implement better employee education and enforce strict access controls to mitigate risks.