Houston City College data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the June 2026 breach of Houston City College. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Houston City College data breach exposed 831,642 accounts from hccs.edu in June 2026. The data taken includes dates of birth, names, physical addresses and email addresses and 4 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 28 Jul 2026, 1 month later. It is the 438th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Houston City College’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. |
| 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. |
| Phone numbers | Expect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM. |
| Academic records | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Citizenship statuses | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Genders | 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, Houston City College among them, without showing the data.
- Distrust messages that mention Houston City College.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, 1 month later.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Odido, February 2026, 6.1 million accounts
- ADT, April 2026, 5.5 million accounts
- Betterment, January 2026, 1.4 million accounts
- Figure, January 2026, 967,178 accounts
- JCPenney, June 2026, 368,418 accounts
- Aman, April 2026, 215,563 accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Houston City College”, Have I Been Pwned, added 28 Jul 2026. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- hccs.edu, Houston City College’s website