Was I in the MediaWorks breach?
MediaWorks is a New Zealand media company. Its breach happened in March 2023 and exposed 162,710 accounts. It included dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses and 1 other kind of detail. If you had an account there by March 2023, 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.
What happened?
In March 2024, data from MediaWorks, a New Zealand media company, was posted on a hacking forum. It came from people who entered online competitions and held email and street addresses, names, phone numbers, birth dates, genders and their competition answers. Some of those affected then got ransom demands asking for payment to delete their data.
- Organisation
- MediaWorks, a New Zealand media company (mediaworks.co.nz)
- When it happened
- March 2023
- Added to monitored breach databases
- 22 March 2024
- Accounts in the data
- 162,710
- What was exposed
- dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and genders
What was exposed, and what does it mean for me?
- Identity detailsdates of birth and home addresses
A date of birth and a home address are what a lender asks for when someone opens credit in your name. They do not change, so they stay useful to a fraudster for years.
- 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 detailsgenders
On their own these carry less risk, but they make a scam message sound more personal.
What should I do now?
In this order, for what this breach exposed.
1. In the US: freeze your credit at all three bureaus
- Place a credit freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free to place and to lift, and it does not affect your credit score.
- If you would rather not freeze, a fraud alert lasts one year. You ask one bureau and it tells the other two.
- If someone uses your details, report it at IdentityTheft.gov to get a recovery plan.
2. In Canada: check your credit file and lock it
- Get your credit report from Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Both give it free online.
- In Ontario, both bureaus must offer a security freeze free of charge, and each bureau is a separate request.
- If you live in Quebec or Ontario, Equifax Canada will lock your credit report at no charge, online, by phone or by mail. Ask TransUnion Canada separately.
- If your details are used to open an account, call your bank, report it to both bureaus, report it to your local police and get a file number, then report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501).
3. 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.
4. 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.
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
Where does this come from?
- The breach record in monitored breach databases: dates, account count and what was exposed. What happened is in our own words.Read 14 October 2026
- US Federal Trade Commission: Credit freezes and fraud alertsRead 14 October 2026
- IdentityTheft.gov (US Federal Trade Commission)Read 14 October 2026
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Getting your credit report and credit scoreRead 14 October 2026
- Government of Ontario: Credit reports and security freezesRead 14 October 2026
- Equifax Canada: Credit lock (Quebec and Ontario residents)Read 14 October 2026
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: What to do if you are a victim of identity fraudRead 14 October 2026
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Phishing, including text messagesRead 14 October 2026
- CISA: Recognize and report phishingRead 14 October 2026
- Get Cyber Safe (Government of Canada): Fact sheet on phishingRead 14 October 2026