Breach date: 2017-06-05. Added to this index: 2017-06-09. Accounts affected: about 397K. Domain: not listed.
What happened
In June 2017, an unsecured database with more than 10 million VINs (vehicle identification numbers) was discovered by researchers. Believed to be sourced from US car dealerships, the data included a raft of personal information and vehicle data along with 397k unique 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
Dates of birth: Your full birth date, day, month and year, collected at signup for age checks, identity verification, insurance quotes, birthday offers or government services.
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.
Family structure: Information about your household, such as the number and ages of children, whether you are a single parent, who lives with you and whether you care for someone, collected by insurers, schools, government services, surveys and marketing databases.
Genders: The gender or sex recorded on your profile, usually picked from a list at signup, sometimes with a title such as Mr or Ms or a gender identity option beyond male and female.
Names: Your first name, surname and sometimes middle name or initials, as you gave them when you signed up. It appears in almost every breach because nearly every account asks for it.
Phone numbers: Your mobile or landline number, collected at signup for contact, delivery updates, marketing and two-factor codes.
Physical addresses: Your residential, postal, billing or delivery address, stored by retailers, utilities, banks, government services and almost any company that sends you something.
Vehicle details: Descriptive information about a vehicle you own or drive, such as make, model, year, colour, trim, finance status or service history, held by insurers, dealers, finance companies and apps.
What to do now
Check whether your own address is in this dataset with the free email breach check.
Review the accounts connected to this service and turn on two-factor authentication.
Turn on two-factor authentication on your email account first, because it is the reset path for everything else.
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 Exposed VINs breach?
The Exposed VINs breach exposed Dates of birth, Email addresses, Family structure, Genders, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Vehicle details. About 397K accounts were affected.
Was I affected by the Exposed VINs 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 Exposed VINs 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.