Audi data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the August 2019 breach of Audi. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Audi data breach exposed 2,743,539 accounts from audiusa.com in August 2019. The data taken includes dates of birth, driver's licenses, names and physical addresses and 4 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 23 Jul 2021, 23 months later. It is the 273rd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Audi’s breach included 8 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Dates of birth | Used to prove who you are to banks and phone companies. |
| Driver's licenses | Enough to open accounts in your name. Ask about a new licence number. |
| Names | Makes scam messages personal enough to believe. |
| Physical addresses | Used to prove who you are, and for scam letters and parcels. |
| Social security numbers | The key to credit in the US. Freeze your credit. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Phone numbers | Expect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM. |
| Vehicle details | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
What to do
- Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, Audi among them, without showing the data.
- Distrust messages that mention Audi.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- Put a PIN on your phone account.Ask your mobile provider for a port-out PIN, so no one can move your number to their SIM.
- Freeze your credit.In the US, free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In Australia, ask Equifax, Experian and illion for a ban. No one can open credit in your name while it’s on.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 23 months later.
Breaches often stay hidden for a long time. Until it came out, people in it had no reason to change anything.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Dave, June 2020, 3 million accounts
- University of California, December 2020, 547,422 accounts
- Odido, February 2026, 6.1 million accounts
- Verifications.io, February 2019, 763 million accounts
- MGM Resorts (2022 Update), July 2019, 25 million accounts
- EatStreet, May 2019, 6.4 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- audiusa.com, Audi’s website