Phone House España data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the April 2021 breach of Phone House España. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Phone House España data breach exposed 5,223,350 accounts from phonehouse.es in April 2021. The data taken includes dates of birth, names, physical addresses and email addresses and 3 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 22 Apr 2021, within a month. It is the 192nd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Phone House España’s breach included 7 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. |
| Genders | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Nationalities | 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, Phone House España among them, without showing the data.
- Distrust messages that mention Phone House España.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, within a month.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Luxottica, March 2021, 77 million accounts
- AT&T, August 2021, 49 million accounts
- Ticketcounter, February 2021, 1.9 million accounts
- Ducks Unlimited, January 2021, 1.3 million accounts
- bigbasket, October 2020, 25 million accounts
- TAP Air Portugal, August 2022, 6.1 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Phone House España”, Have I Been Pwned, added 22 Apr 2021. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- phonehouse.es, Phone House España’s website