Thousands of people who entered competitions on The Sun website have been warned that their personal information may have been stolen.

The paper's publisher, News Group, said the data was taken when the site was hacked on 19 July.

Some of the details, including applications for the Miss Scotland contest, have been posted online.

The company said it had reported the matter to the police and the Information Commissioner.

News International, News Group's parent company, issued a statement that said: "We take customer data extremely seriously and are working with the relevant authorities to resolve this matter.

"We are directly contacting any customer affected by this."

The stolen information is believed to include names, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses and phone numbers.

No financial or password data was compromised, the company said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14371738

Posted: Aug 02, 2011 8:18 am