ClixSense data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the September 2016 breach of ClixSense. For every breach, see Breaches.
The ClixSense data breach exposed 2,424,784 accounts from clixsense.com in September 2016. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, account balances and payment histories and 8 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 11 Sep 2016, within a month. It is the 292nd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
ClixSense’s breach included 12 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Passwords | Criminals try leaked passwords on email, banking and shopping sites, because people reuse them. |
| Usernames | Half of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts. |
| Account balances | Useful for payment fraud. |
| Payment histories | Shows what you buy, which makes fake order and refund scams convincing. |
| Payment methods | Useful for payment fraud. |
| Dates of birth | Used to prove who you are to banks and phone companies. |
| Names | Makes scam messages personal enough to believe. |
| Physical addresses | Used to prove who you are, and for scam letters and parcels. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Genders | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| IP addresses | Roughly where you were when you used the service. |
| Website activity | 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, ClixSense among them, without showing the data.
- Change your ClixSense password.If the account still exists, sign in at ClixSense (clixsense.com) and change it.
- Change it anywhere you used the same one.Start with your email, then banking and shopping. Leaked passwords are tried on other sites automatically, within days.
- Use a password manager and two-step sign-in.A different password for every site means one breach can’t open the rest. Two-step sign-in stops a leaked password working on its own.
- Distrust messages that mention ClixSense.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- 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.
- Watch your statements.Report anything you don’t recognise to your bank, and ask for a new card if full card numbers leaked.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, within a month.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- TrueFire, February 2020, 599,667 accounts
- VNG, May 2015, 25 million accounts
- Animal Jam, October 2020, 7.1 million accounts
- NetGalley, December 2020, 1.4 million accounts
- Thingiverse, October 2020, 228,102 accounts
- Sony, June 2011, 37,103 accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “ClixSense”, Have I Been Pwned, added 11 Sep 2016. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- clixsense.com, ClixSense’s website