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Dixons Carphone Hack: What Happened to the 5.9 Million Cards

Dixons Carphone disclosed in 2018 that attackers had targeted 5.9 million payment cards. Here is what the company said was exposed, how later figures differ and what customers should watch for.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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In June 2018, Dixons Carphone disclosed that attackers had accessed payment-card details in a system used by Currys PC World and Dixons Travel. The company said 5.9 million cards had been targeted, but the exposed information did not include PINs or card-verification values (CVVs). It also reported that about 105,000 non-EU-issued cards without chip-and-PIN protection were compromised. The incident involved personal data as well as payment cards, and later investigations reported larger totals across different data categories.

What happened in the Dixons Carphone hack?

The compromise ran from 24 July 2017 to 25 April 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) later found that malware had been installed on 5,390 point-of-sale terminals in Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores. The terminals processed in-store payments, allowing attackers to collect card details from transactions during that period.

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Dixons Carphone announced the incident on 13 June 2018. It said it had taken action to close the unauthorised access and reported no evidence of fraud resulting from the incident at that time.

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How many cards and personal records were affected?

Figure What it refers to
5.9 million cards Dixons Carphone’s initial figure for cards the attackers attempted to compromise in the payment-processing system in 2018.
5.8 million cards Cards in the initial total that had chip-and-PIN protection, according to the company’s 2018 announcement.
About 105,000 cards Non-EU-issued cards without chip-and-PIN protection that the company said were compromised in 2018.
1.2 million records Non-financial personal-data records, including information such as names, addresses or email addresses, that the company said had been accessed in its 2018 announcement.
About 10 million personal-data records A later figure cited in NCSC customer guidance for records that Dixons Carphone said may have been accessed in 2017. This is a later estimate and a different category from the initial card count.
At least 14 million people The number the ICO’s February 2026 litigation update says were affected by the cyber attack. This refers to affected people, not payment cards.

These figures describe different things and different stages of the investigation. The card totals, personal-data record totals and number of people affected should not be added together or treated as interchangeable.

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What information was exposed, and could the card details be used?

Dixons Carphone said the accessed card data did not contain PINs, CVVs or authentication data that would enable cardholder identification or a purchase. That distinction matters: the company identified a subset of cards without chip-and-PIN protection as compromised, but it did not say that every card in the 5.9 million figure had the same exposure or could be used in the same way.

The company said it notified the relevant card companies through its payment provider about the approximately 105,000 non-EU-issued cards without chip-and-PIN protection. Its announcement reported no evidence of fraud from the incident at that time; that statement describes what was known then, not a guarantee about every subsequent transaction.

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What should customers watch for?

The NCSC warned that attackers with personal data could use it to contact customers and persuade them to disclose more information, including banking login details. Be cautious with unexpected emails, calls or text messages claiming to be from a bank or card provider, especially if they ask for passwords, login codes or other sensitive information.

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  • Do not share banking passwords or security codes in response to an unsolicited message or call.
  • If a contact claims to be from your bank or card provider, use the contact details on its official website, app or card to check whether it is genuine.
  • Review account activity and contact your card issuer promptly if you see a transaction you do not recognise or are concerned about your card.
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What happened after the breach?

The ICO issued DSG a £500,000 fine in 2020. In its February 2026 litigation update, the ICO said the Court of Appeal had reinstated the interpretation that organisations must take appropriate security measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access. The case is to return to the First-tier Tribunal to apply that interpretation to the facts.

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