Vodafone data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the November 2013 breach of Vodafone. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Vodafone data breach exposed 56,021 accounts from vodafone.is in November 2013. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, credit cards and purchases and 7 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 30 Nov 2013, within a month. It is the 595th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Vodafone’s breach included 11 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. |
| Credit cards | Enough to spend. Ask your bank for a new card. |
| Purchases | Shows what you buy, which makes fake order and refund scams convincing. |
| Government issued IDs | Enough to open accounts or take out loans in your name. |
| 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. |
| IP addresses | Roughly where you were when you used the service. |
| SMS messages | 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, Vodafone among them, without showing the data.
- Change your Vodafone password.If the account still exists, sign in at Vodafone (vodafone.is) 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 Vodafone.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.
- 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.
- : the entry was last updated.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- JobStreet, March 2012, 3.9 million accounts
- Imavex, August 2021, 878,209 accounts
- Sony, June 2011, 37,103 accounts
- Yam, June 2013, 13 million accounts
- Chegg, April 2018, 40 million accounts
- VNG, May 2015, 25 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Vodafone”, Have I Been Pwned, added 30 Nov 2013. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- vodafone.is, Vodafone’s website