Skip to content
vindicis

LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) data breach — are you affected?

In the first half of 2021 attackers scraped data from hundreds of millions of public LinkedIn profiles and sold it online. It was not a break-in: the records combine profile details such as names, job titles, locations, education and social-media links with email addresses. The data is still useful for targeted phishing because it links a person to an employer and role.

Key facts
Verified
Breach date
8 April 2021
Accounts affected
125,698,496
Added to catalogue
2 October 2021
Website
linkedin.com

Data exposed

  • Education levels, lower risk
  • Email addresses, lower risk
  • Genders, lower risk
  • Geographic locations, lower risk
  • Job titles, lower risk
  • Names, lower risk
  • Social media profiles, lower risk

Colour shows how damaging the data is if misused.Credentials, ID and bank dataContact and personal detailsOther profile data

What this means for you

Based on the types of data in this breach, in order of importance.

  • Expect more targeted phishing

    Your email address ties you to this service, which is enough for a believable message such as a fake account warning. Check the sender and the web address before you sign in, and go to the site directly instead of using links in email.

  • Limit what attackers can personalise

    Names, employers, job titles and social profiles make impersonation and spear-phishing easier. Check what your public profiles reveal, and be careful with unexpected requests that use your real name or workplace.

  • Review privacy settings

    Location, IP and device details are mostly a privacy concern. Review the settings of the services you still use and delete accounts you no longer need.

Check your own email address

Run a free self-assessment for an email address you own. VINDICIS checks it against infostealer logs and several public breach sources and shows a summary in seconds.

Built for your own addresses. It is not a tool to look up other people.

Run a free self-assessmentCheck a password

Related breaches

Breaches that exposed similar kinds of data.

Frequently asked questions

Was my data in the LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) breach?

Only a check of your own address can tell. If you had an account with LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) around 2021, assume it might be. Run the free self-assessment with an email address you own: VINDICIS checks it against several public breach sources and shows a summary in seconds. It is built for your own addresses, not for looking up other people.

What information was exposed in the LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) breach?

According to the Have I Been Pwned catalogue, the LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) breach affected 125,698,496 accounts and exposed: Education levels, Email addresses, Genders, Geographic locations, Job titles, Names, Social media profiles. The incident dates from 8 April 2021.

What should I do if I had a LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) account?

Review the security settings of your LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) account and treat unexpected emails, texts or letters that mention LinkedIn Scraped Data (2021) with suspicion. Delete the account if you no longer use it.

Is it safe to check my email address on VINDICIS?

Yes. The free scan is not stored or logged, results stay in memory for four hours at most, and your browser only talks to this site. The password checker hashes locally and sends only five characters of the hash, so the password never leaves your device.