Data breaches have become increasingly common, leading to concerns about how individuals should respond when their information is compromised. Victims of such breaches may find themselves more susceptible to criminal activities and scams. A recent case involved a woman named Sue, whose personal information was leaked online, resulting in a Sim swap attack. In this type of scheme, scammers deceive a mobile network operator into issuing a new SIM card, which allows them access to the victim’s online accounts.
After the attackers obtained her phone number, they took control of various accounts, including her Gmail and banking services. Sue reported that the criminals opened a credit card in her name and made unauthorized purchases exceeding £3,000. It required multiple visits to her bank and mobile provider to regain control of her accounts. Furthermore, the attackers reportedly sent alarming messages to her horse-riding groups to create panic.
Analysis of Sue’s digital presence revealed that her details had previously surfaced in data breaches, notably from gambling platform PaddyPower in 2010 and email service Verifications.io in 2019. Cybersecurity experts suggest that attackers likely utilized this information to facilitate the Sim swap.
In a separate incident, a woman named Fran from Brazil discovered unauthorized changes to her Netflix account. She identified that someone else had registered on her account while increasing her subscription fee. Investigations into potential breaches indicated that Fran’s email had been compromised in several incidents involving different platforms.
Another case involved Leah, a small business owner who was targeted in a phishing attack resulting in her business account being taken over, despite having two-factor authentication in place. Like Sue, Leah’s email address was found to be part of previous data breaches, demonstrating the interconnected nature of cybercrime.
The ongoing prevalence of mass data breaches underscores the vulnerabilities individuals face. A report indicated that there have been 794 verified breaches in 2025 alone, compromising over 300 million records. The absence of standardized protocols for assisting victims, combined with the growing trend of class action lawsuits, presents challenges in addressing the fallout from these incidents.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czrk7gxk2l6o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss