Another Online Platform, Eatigo, Also Suffered Data Breach With 2.8 Million Personal Details Up for Sale

The internet has made several things easier.

Lazy bums who viewed walking as the biggest impediment to their happiness could now order food while firmly planted on their couch.

Long-distance lovers don’t have to wait months for a single letter anymore; they can now call each other at any time of the day, and even have virtual dates.

But as an ancient philosopher once said:

“The internet may be fun, but your Eatigo and Redmart data will one day be stolen.”

Eatigo Suffers Data Breach With 2.8 Million Personal Details Up for Sale

If you have an Eatigo account, I have some bad news for you.

The personal data of 2.8 million Eatigo accounts have been stolen and put up on an online forum, according to The Straits Times. 

This includes 400,000 accounts which belong to users in Singapore.

On Saturday (Oct 31), the restaurant reservation platform sent an email out to users stating that personal information including names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers from 18 months ago were “illegally accessed”.

The company was only made aware of the breach on Friday (30 Oct), however. They informed the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) on the same day.

Eatigo assured customers that their existing account password is encrypted and remains safe, but encouraged users to reset their passwords as a precautionary measure.

Fortunately, the online reservation platform doesn’t store credit card information on its system.

Towards the end of the email, Eatigo apologised to its users for the breach.

“We recognise that this is unsettling news and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience this might cause you. We have established a dedicated support team that you can reach out to for support on this matter.”

Second Data Breach in Two Days

Now, if you happen to have both an Eatigo and Redmart account, you’re just plain unlucky. 

The post on an online forum which put up personal information from Eatigo users for sale, also offered personal data from 1.1 million Redmart accounts.

The scary thing about the Redmart breach is that the data stolen included encrypted passwords and partial credit card numbers, in addition to names, phone numbers, and mailing addresses.

The only good thing about this is that the information seems to be from RedMart’s old system, which was 18 months old and not used by the company.

Lazada said it has contacted affected customers and logged them out of their accounts as a precaution.

The company has since blocked all unauthorized access to the database.

Should You Save Payment Information Online?

As you know, many apps which sell products or services allow you to store your payment information on their platform.

Many people take up this option because they want to avoid the arduous task of tapping a few numbers and letters on their phones with their thumbs every time they want to make a purchase.

However, there are two compelling reasons not to store your payment info online.

For one, if the platform you’re on is hacked, you risk having your banking card details stolen. And unless you enjoy parting with your money, this is not a good thing.

Secondly, there’s actually a reason why platforms want you to save your payment information online: because it makes it easier to buy more stuff. 

This will lead to more impulse purchases, as we don’t have to stare at our credit card and question our decision.

So, if you want to avoid having your banking information stolen in a data breach, which happens from time to time, avoid saving your payment information online.

It’s just a bad idea.