Now pensions data breach

djwilc1961

I recently received a letter from now pensions informing me that my details , namely my d.o.b ,NI number , name address and email had been “inadvertently “ sent to a third party.
Am I panicking for no reason ? They have offered a full year subscription of Experian plus. They don’t have any bank details but can my National insurance number be used for illegal purposes?

molerat

Any of your personal details can be used when someone has enough of them.  As this looks like they were accidentally sent to some random individual rather than stolen in a hacking attack then it is unlikely that they will be used for nefarious purposes which is why you have been given free access to the Experian service which monitors your credit file and alerts you to changes, searches and credit applications.

dunstonh

Am I panicking for no reason ?

Yes.   Whilst there was a breach, it was in a data attack but an inadvertent release of data for a short time on an open forum.

They don’t have any bank details but can my National insurance number be used for illegal purposes?

All of your data is potentially useable depending on how it is used.  This includes data on you that is in the public domain.  Your name and address for example or your date of birth.