About 900,000 Origin Energy customers affected by hack as company admits it was warned weeks before public told

Chief executive, Frank Calabria, apologises and advises customers to look out for suspicious activity amid heightened scam risk Origin Energy has admitted it was warned of the hack that accessed 900,000 current and former customers’ personal data three weeks before it first made the data breach public. Australia’s largest energy retailer said a “significant” proportion of the 900,000 had been former customers, with those affected to be notified in the coming days. Origin has said the data may include customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and account information, as well as the last four digits of a credit card, or the last three digits of a bank account. The company has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia, providing electricity, fossil gas, LPG and internet services to homes and businesses. Origin’s chief executive, Frank Calabria, told reporters the company was still reviewing the incident. “We are sorry,” Calabria said on Tuesday. “We don’t take for granted the trust customers place in Origin and we’re here to support them.” Calabria warned customers to watch out for suspicious activity and a heightened risk of scams. He said Origin received emails from someo