Data breach · May 2017

Was I in the Bell (2017 breach) breach?

Bell (2017 breach) is a Canadian telecommunications company. Its breach happened in May 2017 and exposed 2,231,256 accounts. It included passwords, phone numbers, email addresses and general locations and 6 other kinds of detail. If you had an account there by May 2017, check your address below to see whether it is one of them.

Breach record last updated . Steps read from the government pages at the foot of this page.

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01

What happened?

In May 2017, Bell in Canada was breached and customer records were leaked online. The attacker said Bell had not cooperated and threatened to release more. Email addresses and survey results from 2011 and 2012 were exposed. A small number of staff records held a name, phone number and passcode in plain text. Bell had also been breached in 2014.

Organisation
Bell (2017 breach), a Canadian telecommunications company (bell.ca)
When it happened
May 2017
Added to monitored breach databases
16 May 2017
Accounts in the data
2,231,256
What was exposed
passwords, phone numbers, email addresses, general locations, IP addresses (where you connected from), job titles, names, spoken languages, survey results and usernames
02

What was exposed, and what does it mean for me?

  • Your passwordpasswords

    The password for this account was in the data, either as written or in a stored form that can often be reversed when the password is short or common. Anyone with the list can try it on your email, bank and shopping accounts.

  • Your phone numberphone numbers

    Expect texts and calls that use your real details to sound genuine. A phone number is also what a fraudster needs to try to move your service to their own SIM card.

  • Your email addressemail addresses

    Expect messages that look like they come from this service or another one you use, written to get you to click a link or sign in on a fake page.

  • Other detailsgeneral locations, IP addresses (where you connected from), job titles, names, spoken languages, survey results and usernames

    On their own these carry less risk, but they make a scam message sound more personal.

03

What should I do now?

In this order, for what this breach exposed.

1. Change the password, and every reuse of it

  • Change your Bell (2017 breach) password if the account still exists. Then change the same password on every other account where you used it, starting with your email.
  • Use a different password for each account. A password manager makes that practical: it creates long passwords and remembers them for you.
  • Turn on a second sign-in step, such as a code from an app or a security key, for your email, bank and social accounts. Your email comes first, because every password reset goes to it.

2. Protect your phone number

  • Ask your mobile carrier to put a PIN or passcode on your account, and ask whether it offers a lock on SIM changes and number transfers.
  • Treat texts about deliveries, accounts or payments with care. Do not tap the link: contact the company on a number you already have.

3. Expect phishing

  • Be wary of messages that urge you to act fast, ask for personal details, or link to an address that is slightly off.
  • If a message might be genuine, do not use its links or phone numbers. Go to the site by typing its address yourself.
04

Is my address in it?

Enter your email address. We check that one address against monitored breach databases and show which breaches list it and what each exposed.

No account needed. We keep the address you check, when, and how many breach records it was found in, to prevent abuse, until you ask us to delete it. Privacy

Sources

Where does this come from?

Other breaches from 2017

All breaches Breaches from 2017 Breaches that exposed passwordsBreaches that exposed phone numbers