PeopleConnect-owned background check services Instant Checkmate and TruthFinder have disclosed data breaches affecting a total of more than 20 million users.
In individual data breach notices published on February 3, the organizations informed users that the incident was discovered after cybercriminals started sharing databases stolen from the two companies on underground forums.
The databases – or ‘lists’, as the two companies call them – contain names, email addresses, phone numbers, encrypted passwords, and password reset tokens that are either expired or inactive.
“We have confirmed that the list was created several years ago and appears to include all customer accounts created between 2011 and 2019. The published list originated inside our company,” the announcements read.
The two organizations note that the leaked information does not include details on user activity or payment data.
While Instant Checkmate and TruthFinder also note that no “readable or usable passwords or other means to compromise user accounts” leaked either, it is not uncommon for cybercriminals to try to crack stolen encrypted passwords.
“As a best practice we would recommend that you not respond to suspicious communications. We will never ask you for your password, social security number or payment information via email or telephone,” the companies say.
Investigations were launched into both incidents, but no evidence of malicious activity has been found as of now on their networks. According to the two announcements, the data breach was the result of the “inadvertent leak or theft” of the impacted database.
While neither Instant Checkmate nor TruthFinder shared information on the number of affected individuals, the data has already been added to Troy Hunt’s breach notification service Have I been pwned.
The leaked databases include the information of more than 11.9 million Instant Checkmate accounts, and the details of over 8.1 million TruthFinder accounts.
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