Data breach · January 2012

Was I in the VK breach?

VK is a Russian social media site. Its breach happened in January 2012 and exposed 93,338,602 accounts. It included passwords, phone numbers, email addresses and names. If you had an account there by January 2012, 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?

VK, a Russian social network, was hacked in about 2012, exposing a very large number of accounts. The data surfaced in June 2016 when it was offered for sale on an underground marketplace. It held email addresses, phone numbers, names and passwords kept in plain text.

Organisation
VK, a Russian social media site (vk.com)
When it happened
January 2012
Added to monitored breach databases
9 June 2016
Accounts in the data
93,338,602
What was exposed
passwords, phone numbers, email addresses and names
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 detailsnames

    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 VK 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 2012

All breaches Breaches from 2012 Breaches that exposed passwordsBreaches that exposed phone numbers