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Verifications.io data breach — are you affected?

In February 2019 the email-verification service verifications.io exposed a MongoDB database without a password, leaking 763 million unique email addresses. Many records added names, phone numbers, IP addresses, birth dates, employers, genders, locations and postal addresses. Most of the people affected were not customers of the service, which verified bulk marketing lists.

Key facts
Verified
Breach date
25 February 2019
Accounts affected
763,117,241
Added to catalogue
9 March 2019
Website
verifications.io

Data exposed

  • Dates of birth, medium risk
  • Phone numbers, medium risk
  • Physical addresses, medium risk
  • Email addresses, lower risk
  • Employers, lower risk
  • Genders, lower risk
  • Geographic locations, lower risk
  • IP addresses, lower risk
  • Job titles, lower risk
  • Names, 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.

  • Stay alert to identity fraud

    Birth dates and identity document numbers cannot be changed like a password. Be wary of anyone who quotes them to sound legitimate, check bank statements and credit reports regularly, and use a credit-file freeze or fraud alert where your country offers one.

  • Watch for smishing and SIM-swap attempts

    A leaked phone number lets criminals send convincing text messages and try to take over the number. Do not tap links in unexpected SMS, set a PIN with your mobile carrier and prefer an authenticator app to SMS codes.

  • Expect phishing letters and delivery scams

    A physical address makes impersonation more believable and enables fake letters and parcel notices. Treat unexpected post or delivery messages asking for money or details with suspicion, and check anything official on the sender’s own website.

  • 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.

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 Verifications.io breach?

Only a check of your own address can tell. If you had an account with Verifications.io around 2019, 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 Verifications.io breach?

According to the Have I Been Pwned catalogue, the Verifications.io breach affected 763,117,241 accounts and exposed: Dates of birth, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Email addresses, Employers, Genders, Geographic locations, IP addresses, Job titles, Names. The incident dates from 25 February 2019.

What should I do if I had a Verifications.io account?

Review the security settings of your Verifications.io account and treat unexpected emails, texts or letters that mention Verifications.io 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.