Flashback data breach

Breach date: 2015-02-11. Added to this index: 2015-02-12. Accounts affected: about 40K. Domain: flashback.se.

What happened

In February 2015, the Swedish forum known as Flashback had sensitive internal data on 40k members published via the tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet. The data was allegedly sold to them via Researchgruppen (The Research Group) who have a history of exposing otherwise anonymous users, primarily those who they believe participate in "troll like" behaviour. The compromised data includes social security numbers, home and email addresses.

Breach data sourced from Have I Been Pwned, used under CC BY 4.0. Additional breach metadata provided by XposedOrNot. DataExposed is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.

What was exposed

  • Email addresses: The email address you used to register or log in. It is the most common field in breaches because it doubles as your username on most sites.
  • Government issued IDs: Numbers or images of official identity documents, such as passports, national identity cards, Social Security numbers, Medicare cards, tax file numbers, residence permits and voter cards.
  • Physical addresses: Your residential, postal, billing or delivery address, stored by retailers, utilities, banks, government services and almost any company that sends you something.

What to do now

  1. Check whether your own address is in this dataset with the free email breach check.
  2. Review the accounts connected to this service and turn on two-factor authentication.
  3. Turn on two-factor authentication on your email account first, because it is the reset path for everything else.
  4. Treat calls and messages that quote real details about you as hostile until you verify them another way.

Frequently asked questions

What data was leaked in the Flashback breach?

The Flashback breach exposed Email addresses, Government issued IDs, Physical addresses. About 40K accounts were affected.

Was I affected by the Flashback breach?

Run the free email breach check with the address you used on that service. It will tell you whether your address appears in this dataset.

What should I do about the Flashback breach?

Treat any message that quotes details from this breach as suspicious, turn on two-factor authentication, and consider removing your details from people-search sites if your address or phone was included.

Next steps