M&S reported a cyber incident in April 2025 that disrupted some services, and later said some customer personal data had been taken. The company has not publicly confirmed that Scattered Spider was responsible or disclosed the precise attack method in the statements covered here. M&S said usable payment details and account passwords were not included.
What happened to M&S?
On 22 April 2025, Marks & Spencer said it had been managing a cyber incident for several days and was making temporary changes to protect customers and the business. Its early update said stores and the website and app were operating normally at that point. M&S said it had brought in external cybersecurity experts and notified data-protection authorities and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). M&S’s 22 April regulatory filing is an early snapshot, not a description of the service situation that followed.
On 23 April, the company said stores remained open, but contactless payments were not being processed, in-store Click & Collect collection was paused, and some online deliveries could be delayed. It also said it had moved some processes offline. M&S’s 23 April update described those disruptions.
Was M&S hacked by Scattered Spider?
The official M&S statements and agency announcements described here do not confirm Scattered Spider as the perpetrator. They also do not establish that ransomware was deployed, that a ransom was demanded, or how the attackers gained access. The group’s name in the headline should therefore be understood as an attribution claim, not a confirmed finding in these sources.
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On 10 July 2025, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said four people had been arrested in the UK as part of an ongoing investigation into attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods. The NCA said officers were investigating three attacks from April 2025; its announcement did not establish guilt or identify Scattered Spider as responsible. An arrest is not a conviction. The NCA’s announcement said the investigation continued.
What information did M&S say was taken?
M&S told customers that some personal data had been taken and said there was no evidence it had been shared. The company said the information could include contact details, dates of birth and online order history. Its customer FAQ also listed household information, masked payment-card details, and certain M&S credit-card or Sparks Pay customer reference numbers as possible categories. These are M&S’s descriptions of the data involved, not an independent account of the incident. Read M&S’s customer cyber update and FAQ.
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Were payment details or passwords stolen?
M&S said the data did not include usable payment details or account passwords. It said it did not hold full payment-card details on its systems. The company’s statement about masked card details and customer reference numbers is distinct from saying that usable card credentials were taken.
What did regulators and police say?
On 2 May 2025, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had received reports from M&S and Co-op, was making enquiries with the organisations, and was working closely with the NCSC. That was an update on enquiries, not a published finding or enforcement outcome. Read the ICO’s statement.
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The NCA’s later announcement concerned arrests in an ongoing investigation into attacks on three retailers. It did not report convictions or resolve the public attribution question about M&S.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should M&S customers do?
M&S said customers did not need to take action, but warned them to be alert to emails, calls or texts pretending to come from the retailer. The company said it would not ask customers to disclose account usernames or passwords. It also said customers would see a password-reset prompt the next time they logged in.
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- Be wary of unexpected messages claiming to be from M&S, especially those urging you to click a link or share information.
- Before opening an email or text link, check where it leads. Do not provide your username or password in response to a message or call.
- Use a strong, unique password for your email account and different passwords for different accounts, as advised by M&S and the ICO.
- Keep your phone and other device software updated, following M&S’s guidance.
- Check M&S’s official updates and follow any account instructions it provides, including the password-reset prompt at your next login.
The ICO’s advice was to use strong passwords, avoid reusing them, check updates from the affected organisation and follow its guidance. The ICO’s statement provides its advice alongside its account of the enquiries.
Quick Recap
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- Personal Information Protection: there are 4 pieces of address blocker roller stamps in 2 different sizes, and 5 pieces of 1.5 ml inks, a total of 9 pieces. Mainly applied to hide information such as social security numbers, bank statements, billing addresses, shipping addresses, tax documents and so on, protecting your personal information
- Re Inking Unlimitedly: the information blocker stamp can cover information of the length about 100 meters. And each security stamper roller has an oil hole, so you don't have to worry about you having to throw away the roller stamps when the ink runs out. They can be refilled with oil for repeated use, saving time and energy
- Cover Fast: our identity protection rollers come in 2 different sizes, and you can choose different sizes according to different areas of information to cover large amounts of private information in a fast and clean way, avoiding identity theft and rejecting privacy disclosure harassment
- Easy to Use: just remove the lid on the ID stamp blocker roller and open it, and then gently slide it on the place where the information needs to be covered. It is suitable for most ordinary paper with black words, and can protect your personal privacy in time
- Save Time and Energy: compared with the shredder, the personal confidential stamp has a small size, easy to carry, can be applied anytime and anywhere. Compared to the marker, it covers a larger area and can be quickly covered with a single swipe. There is no need to worry about whether you can not protect your privacy in time
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