Lyca Mobile been down since yesterday

hairbyven · 6 October 2023 at 8:03AM

deanos said:

well i’m back online and working for now, i bought a £10 top up with 20gb on there website, the website now accepts paypal so paid via that, gives me a bit of breathing space to try and get this pac code sorted which still does not work when requested by text

I have also managed to use PayPal to also buy time to get my pac. It’s not showing on my Luca account though. I am yet to leave the house to see if it’s working. What a pain !!

deanos · 6 October 2023 at 10:42AM

I have a PAC code , complained on trustpilot and have just received a email

Further to the review posted on Trustpilot; we sorry to know that you want to leave Lycamobile and want to get PAC.

As per the request please find the PAC

the_goon · 6 October 2023 at 11:03AM

I have 2 family members on Lyca, and I can't get the PAC code on either of them (PAC request failed when texting 65075).
One of the contracts is for my 12 yo daughter, and she's completely without service. Therefore, we can't see her location anymore). Her monthly payment was never taken, so she "has no credit" when trying to make a call etc.
I just want the PAC codes now so I can leave! I just can't get them!

hushmore · 6 October 2023 at 12:53PM

No update on this - I cannot get through to anyone at Lycamobile, I cannot top up on the website on app, and most frustratingly of all - I cannot get a PAC code!!! Lyca mobile are literally now holding my phone number hostage - this is absolutely beyond belief. I've tried the online chat, I've tried holding for hours - there is literally no way to speak to anyone at Lyca Mobile.

If this had been one of the big premium companies you know this would be headline news on the telly - but because it only affects the little people, its obvious no-one is interested. This is one of the biggest scandals in the mobile phone industry for many years.

QrizB · 6 October 2023 at 1:11PM

My Lyca service is back, as mentioned before, but logging in to their website isn't possible as the OTP codes aren't arriving in a reasonable time. It's taking 30+ minutes for them to turn up.

I'm in no particular hurry so I guess I'll give them another day or two to sort their mess out, then try again.

the_goon · 6 October 2023 at 2:08PM

It's not just the case of the OTP not arriving quickly enough. 99% of the time there's no screen to be able to enter the code anyway. Clicking the login button just does nothing.
I have no way of getting the service "back", as there's no credit on it (the monthly debit wasn't taken), and I have no way of topping it up as it won't log in.
As soon as I get the PAC, I will never return to this lot. Shambles!

tastyfish · 6 October 2023 at 9:17PM

So I’m not the only one experiencing issues with LycaMobile, mine are similar to many others. Can’t get a PAC code from 65075, just get an error message. Can’t login to the app. Thought it was odd the other day I couldn’t make calls. Data seems fine, for now.

But I can’t complain too much, I’ve been paying 1p a month for the past 6 months! The company have clearly got issues and I suspect the frontline staff are bearing the brunt of customer dissatisfaction. We all need to remember they are all ordinary people like us, even the backroom staff trying to deal with the cyber attack. These things happen but they’re not the ones responsible for the handling of this issue, that’s down to the board and senior managers. Not ideal situation for many, let’s hope it all gets resolved soon.

deanos · 7 October 2023 at 8:49AM

notification to customers

Notification to customers

Following investigations carried out as a result of disruption to our network, it has become clear that Lyca Mobile UK Limited has been the victim of a systems cyber attack. We are working around the clock to ensure that the impact to our customers is minimised.

Lyca Mobile first became aware of this on 30 September and took immediate action to contain the incident, which included isolating and shutting down systems where appropriate. We also instructed leading security and other experts to help us investigate and minimise any impact on your data including the period during which we recover our systems. We have also notified and are in discussions with all of the relevant regulatory authorities.

It will take some time to fully complete our investigations and carefully restore all of our systems, but it is now clear to us that the attackers have accessed at least some of the personal information held in our systems. We now believe this includes at least some customer data, so we are writing to advise you to be vigilant in case of any suspicious activity.

The main types of personal information which we hold in connection with our customers are set out below.

Identification information: where you have given them to us we may hold your name, address, date of birth, alternative contact number and/or email address.
Where provided to us, any identity information such as proof of address, copies of passports, identity cards or similar information that was provided to us as part of your initial verification when you purchased your phone service.
If you have set up an online account, such as MyAccount, with Lyca Mobile then we may also hold a password for you. Our policy is to ensure that passwords are encrypted in our systems, but since we do not yet have full details of the cyber attack, please see the recommended actions below.
Customer service interactions: some interactions between customers and our customer service team are recorded (having been selected at random) and those records are held for up to 60 days.
If you have chosen to store a credit card in your online account then we will also hold the last four digits of your credit card number and its expiration date. The full credit card number will also be held, but will be encrypted for additional security and we consider the risk of any access to be very low. We do not hold the 3 digit CVV code in any form.

We would also like to flag to customers that our number porting functionality has been affected by the attack on our systems. We are currently unable to provide users with PAC codes. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and are working around the clock to ensure this and all other functionality is restored as quickly as possible.

Password resets

If you have a Lyca Mobile password, then as an extra precaution we recommend that you reset that. If you use your Lyca Mobile password for other online accounts, you should change it now. If you have reused the same credentials including the same password elsewhere (e.g., on unrelated websites) you may wish to consider changing those too as a precaution and as good practice generally.

Staying vigilant

We remain vigilant for any suspicious activity and are recommending that you please do the same. Given the nature of the information potentially involved, there is a risk you might be targeted for phishing attempts, fraud or nuisance marketing communications. Criminals may use your personal details to target you with convincing emails, texts and calls. Be suspicious of unsolicited requests for your personal or financial details. If you receive an e-mail which you're not sure about, treat it with caution, or if you have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, contact your bank immediately and you should report this to the police.

The security of your personal information is very important to us and as our investigation progresses, we will consider whether we need to take any further steps to help protect that information. While we hope to bring all of our systems back online as soon as possible, we are doing so carefully to minimise any further issues. Please bear with us if there are any interruptions to service in this time.

We are also liaising with the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") and Ofcom.

Contacting us

If you have any questions, you can contact our Customer Services team at cs@lycamobile.co.uk.

You can also find more information generally about how we handle your personal information and your rights, together with details of our Data Protection Officer, in our website privacy notice. This can be found at https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/lycamobile-privacy-policy.

06 October 2023

Marc Payne

Data Protection Officer