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GunAuction.com data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the December 2022 breach of GunAuction.com. For every breach, see Breaches.

The GunAuction.com data breach exposed 565,470 accounts from gunauction.com in December 2022. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, partial credit card data and partial dates of birth and 6 more kinds of data.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 2 Mar 2023, 3 months later. It is the 468th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

GunAuction.com’s breach included 10 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:

DataWhat it’s used for
PasswordsCriminals try leaked passwords on email, banking and shopping sites, because people reuse them.
UsernamesHalf of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts.
Partial credit card dataNot enough to spend, but enough to make a fake call from your bank convincing.
Partial dates of birthHelps someone pretend to be you.
Physical addressesUsed to prove who you are, and for scam letters and parcels.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.
Phone numbersExpect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM.
Browser user agent detailsPersonal details that make scam messages more convincing.
GendersPersonal details that make scam messages more convincing.
IP addressesRoughly where you were when you used the service.

What to do

  1. Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, GunAuction.com among them, without showing the data.
  2. Change your GunAuction.com password.If the account still exists, sign in at GunAuction.com (gunauction.com) and change it.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Distrust messages that mention GunAuction.com.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
  6. 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.
  7. 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, 3 months later.
  • : the entry was last updated.

Similar breaches

Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:

See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.

References

  1. ^ Troy Hunt. “GunAuction.com”, Have I Been Pwned, added 2 Mar 2023. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.