BOSSES at Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge say the charity has suffered a data breach after falling victim to a hacker.

A spokesman for the hospice said the email account of a member of staff was compromised temporarily on April 10 and a hacker was able to send a potentially malicious email to a number of the charity worker's contacts, inviting recipients to click on a fraudulent link.

IT experts at the Hagley Road hospice say the breach was identified and resolved swiftly but, to ensure total transparency with supporters and contacts whose information is stored within the hospice's internal system, the charity's CEO Stevan Jackson wanted to make all supporters aware of the breach and to offer advice on how to proceed if anyone has clicked the link.

Staff at the charity have notified West Midlands Police, the Information Commissioner's Office and the Charity Commission and have been given a crime number while police investigate further.

The hospice's statement can be read online at http://www.marystevenshospice.co.uk/notification-hospice-data-breach/.

Any supporters concerned they may have received a suspicious email from the hospice and clicked on its contents can call hospice privacy officer, Gerry Crow, on 01384 443010 or email privacy.officer@marystevenshospice.co.uk.