Co-op offers customers £10 discount on groceries after massive data breach, but there’s a catch

British supermarket chain Co-op is giving its Co-op Group Members a £10 discount on their purchases following a recent cyberattack. The condition is that they spend a minimum of £40 in Co-op food stores in a single transaction.

In May, Co-op acknowledged that hackers had successfully accessed its IT systems and exfiltrated customer data, including full names, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth.

The attackers, also known as DragonForce, contacted the BBC and told the news outlet that they had stolen the private information of 20 million Co-op customers. The retailer wouldn’t confirm that number, but did say the hackers accessed personal information of “a significant number” of current and former members.

In a statement to British media, including BBC and Sky News, the retailer said it has almost fully recovered from the recent cyberattack.

“I'm very proud that, thanks to the work of our colleagues, we are very near to making a full and complete recovery from the recent cyberattack on our Co-op, and I'm delighted to see our stores looking back to normal and being able to serve our shoppers and communities,” Co-op Managing Director of Food Matt Hood said in a statement.

To show its gratitude, Co-op is offering a £10 discount on shopping for current and new Co-op Group Members, but only if they are willing to spend at least £40 in a single transaction. Hood calls it a “gesture of appreciation” to show the company’s 6.5 million customers its thanks.

The terms and conditions state that the discount offer can’t be used to purchase fuel, first-stage baby milk, postage stamps, saving schemes, lottery purchases, gift cards and vouchers, phone cards, in-store concessions, PayPoint, newspaper deliveries, mobile phone top-ups, saving stamps, prescription medicines, carrier bags, cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes.

The offer runs from 18th to 24th June and can only be used once by Co-op Group members.

Not everybody is pleased with Co-op’s discount offer. “Your most sensitive data is apparently worth £10 but only if you spend £40,” security researcher Kevin Beaumont says.