Washington State Food Worker Card data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the November 2022 breach of Washington State Food Worker Card. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Washington State Food Worker Card data breach exposed 1,594,305 accounts from foodworkercard.wa.gov in November 2022. The data taken includes dates of birth, driver's licenses, names, email addresses and geographic locations.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 31 Mar 2024, 16 months later. It is the 336th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Washington State Food Worker Card’s breach included 5 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. |
| Driver's licenses | Enough to open accounts in your name. Ask about a new licence number. |
| Names | Makes scam messages personal enough to believe. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Geographic locations | Roughly where you live. |
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, Washington State Food Worker Card among them, without showing the data.
- Distrust messages that mention Washington State Food Worker Card.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.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 16 months later.
Breaches often stay hidden for a long time. Until it came out, people in it had no reason to change anything.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Audi, August 2019, 2.7 million accounts
- Odido, February 2026, 6.1 million accounts
- TAP Air Portugal, August 2022, 6.1 million accounts
- Luxottica, March 2021, 77 million accounts
- AT&T, August 2021, 49 million accounts
- Angel One, April 2023, 6.8 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Washington State Food Worker Card”, Have I Been Pwned, added 31 Mar 2024. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- foodworkercard.wa.gov, Washington State Food Worker Card’s website