The employees are accused of stealing customer data and using it to conduct phone scams
Three members of TalkTalk’s Indian call centre have been arrested amidst accusations they stole personal data from its subscribers to use in online scams.
TalkTalk confirmed that following an investigation, three employees of sub-contractor Wipro had been arrested at its Kolkata call centre.
It follows several major attacks against the broadband provider last year, and could further harm the firm’s relationship with sub-contractor Wipro, who runs the Indian contact centre.
TalkTalk said it had uncovered the alleged data theft after conducting a “forensic review” of its security in the wake of October’s attack.
A statement from TalkTalk said: “Following the October 2015 cyberattack, we have been conducting a forensic review to ensure that all aspects of our security are as robust as possible – including that of our suppliers.
“As part of the review, we have been working with Wipro, and the local Police in Kolkata. Acting on information supplied by TalkTalk, the local Police have arrested three individuals who have breached our policies and the terms of our contract with Wipro. We are also reviewing our relationship with Wipro.
“We are determined to identify and deal effectively with these issues and we will continue to devote significant resource to keeping our customers’ data safe. Data theft and scams are a growing issue affecting all businesses and they are notoriously difficult to investigate and prosecute. We are pleased that our investigations have yielded results, and will continue to do everything we can to tackle these crimes.”
TalkTalk saw almost 160,000 customer accounts accessed in October’s hack, for which five individuals have been arrested.
Wipro has worked with TalkTalk since it was ran under the AOL brand, which went out of existence in 2009. The call centre in Kolkata currently has around 2,500 TalkTalk staff.
A spokesperson for Wipro played down the attack, saying: “Wipro is working closely with the customer in the investigation and will continue to extend its full co-operation to the investigating authorities,” it said.
“We are unable to comment on the matter that is currently under investigation.”