By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 29th July 2025. This guide will focus on how to make a failure to use blind carbon copy on email data breach claims. This is a very easy mistake to make when sending out a group email. However, a failure to use BCC can result in your email address being exposed to a party that you may prefer does not have access to it. In this guide, we look at how these mistakes can happen, as well as the types of harm they may cause you. Additionally, we will go over the process of making a BBC data breach claim.
However, please keep in mind that your claim is going to be unique in some way. It might be somewhat similar to other claims, but it won’t match exactly. And because of this, we might not have covered every question you have. Don’t worry if this is the case though, we can still provide you with the answers that you need. Just give us a call on 0800 073 8804, or contact us by filling out our online form. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One of our claim advisors will get you the answers you need.
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If you’d like to learn about the key points from this guide, why not check out our video below:
When Can You Claim For A BCC Data Breach?
You might be wondering when you could claim compensation for a BCC data breach. To form the basis of a valid claim, you must be able to prove that:
- The data breach was a result of wrongful conduct.
- It affected your personal data.
- You suffered financial or psychological harm as a result.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) protect the personal data of UK residents, and data controllers and data processors are expected to comply.
A data controller decides how and why they need to use your personal data. A data processor is someone who processes personal data on behalf of a data controller. Personal data is information that others can use to identify you. For example, this might include your phone number, your personal email address, or your home address.
A personal data breach is defined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a security incident that affects your personal data’s availability, confidentiality, or integrity.
If a data breach caused you to suffer mental or financial harm, contact our team. They can assess the eligibility of your case and offer you free advice. You can also head here to learn more about whether or not an email address is a breach of GDPR here.
4.8 (466 reviews) What Is The Difference Between CC and BCC?
If your personal data has been exposed due to a failure to use blind carbon copy on an email data breach, you may be wondering what the difference is between CC and BCC. Here are the differences:
- Carbon Copy (CC) – all email addresses added in the CC box are visible to all recipients of the email, and is used when you want everyone to know who has received the email. Using the CC box allows everyone to be able to access the email addresses of all recipients.
- Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) – all email addresses added in the BCC box are not visible to all recipients of the email, and is often used in mass emails. Using the BCC box prevents the email addresses of the recipients from being accessed by anyone else. When BCC is not appropriately or correctly used, this could potentially lead to a data breach.
As such, when mass emailing people who are out of your organisation, BCC should always be used. This is to protect the recipients’ personal data from being exposed, so that their email address is not visible to others.
If your personal data was exposed because CC was used instead of BCC, please contact us today. We can help you make a data breach claim if you’re eligible for compensation.
How To Prevent A Failure To Use Blind Carbon Copy On An Email Data Breach
Some advice on how to protect personal data in the workplace is to train staff in proper usage of CC and BCC. These types of email breaches are often caused by human error. And here are a few tips on how to overcome this.
- Ensure that staff are knowledgeable about their own responsibilities for protecting data under UK GDPR.
- Train staff to understand what the difference is between CC and BCC, and to know when to use them.
- Ensure that staff know to show both the CC and BCC fields when an email is being written.
- Ensure that staff know what the internal reporting process is if they do accidentally cause an email data breach.
Do I Need Evidence To Make A Data Breach Claim?
If you are eligible to claim compensation because someone failed to send an email with BCC, exposing your personal data and causing you harm, you will need evidence. Some examples of the evidence you could use to help support your claim include:
- Evidence that your personal data was breached. This could be a confirmation letter or email from the organisation responsible for the breach, confirming what personal data of yours was compromised.
- Any correspondence between you and the organisation regarding the breach.
- If you reported the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and they decide to look into the breach, the results could be used as evidence. The ICO are an independent body that upholds information rights. However, you must make the report to them within 3 months of your last meaningful communication with the organisation regarding the breach.
- Evidence you suffered psychological harm, such as a copy of your medical records stating any diagnosis.
- Evidence you suffered financial harm, such as a copy of your bank statements.
If you’re concerned about how to gather evidence to support your claim, you might be interested in getting help from a solicitor who specialises in email CC and BCC data breach claims. They could assist you in gathering relevant evidence to support your claim.
To learn whether one of our solicitors could assist with your claim, you can contact an advisor. They could answer any questions you might have about your case and check your eligibility to claim.
Calculating Failure To Use Blind Carbon Copy On Email Data Breach Claims
If you’ve experienced a failure to use blind carbon copy on email data breach, you could be entitled to compensation. Notably, your compensation payout could compensate you for the following:
- Non-material damage. This ultimately relates to the psychological harm you experienced as a result of the failure to use bcc data breach. This may include PTSD, depression or anxiety.
- Material damage. This damage relates to the expenses, costs or financial losses caused by the data breach. If you have sufficient evidence, you could be entitled to claim for loss of earnings, therapy costs, home relocation costs and any additional home security.
Moreover, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) help assign values to different kinds of psychological and physical harm through guideline compensation brackets. For instance, a solicitor may use this publication when providing a suggested compensation figure to a client.
All figures in the table below, aside from the first entry, have been taken from the JCG. Please note that they are merely guidelines and do not guarantee how much you will receive.
| Psychiatric Injury | Severity Category | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Damage + Special Damages | Severe | up to £150,000+ |
| Psychiatric Damage | Severe (a) | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| Moderate (c) | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| Less Severe (d) | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Severe (a) | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| Moderate (c) | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| Less Severe (d) | £4,820 to £9,980 |
To learn more about claiming for financial losses after a failure to use bcc data breach, please get in touch with our helpful team today.
No Win No Fee Failure To Use Blind Carbon Copy On Email Data Breach Claims
Our team are here to help if you have a valid case and are ready to start your BCC data breach claim. Our expert personal data breach solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, by offering their clients a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you typically don’t need to pay your solicitor any upfront fees for their work on your claim, nor are you required to pay for their services while the claim is progressing or if it fails.
If your personal data breach compensation claim is successful, a success fee will be deducted. They take this as a small, legally capped portion of your settlement amount. This legal cap helps to make sure that the majority share of what you receive stays with you.
Contact Our Team
Get in touch with our team today to start your personal data breach compensation claim. Our advisors can answer any questions you may have about the claims process and can provide a free consultation. If they find your BCC data breach claim to be a strong case, they may then connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
To get started:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Use the live chat feature.
- Contact us online.
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Here are some useful external links.
- Understanding Secure Email
- Email Marketing Guidelines From The ICO
- Guidance On AI And Data Protection
- Here are some links to more of our data breach guides.
- Employer Data Breach Claims
- Claiming For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- How To Claim For A Social Services Data Breach
Guide By Wheeler
Edited By Goldasz
