Massive Leak Exposes 5,000,000 Credit and Debt Card Numbers, Along With Customers’ Financial Records and Personal Details: Data Protection Firm

Millions of Americans are now at risk of financial fraud, identity theft and privacy violations after a massive data trove was leaked online, according to a digital security firm.

Personal data security firm Leakd says it’s discovered five terabytes of screenshots online containing five million unique credit card and debit card numbers, as well as financial records and personal information.

According to Leakd’s security team, the exposed data stash specifically contains users’ full names, billing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and credit card details.

While the firm says the entity behind the large data leak continues to remain anonymous, it notes that many of the screenshots bear the logo of Braniacshop, a “definitely questionable” website, according to Scam Detector.

Leakd also says that the party responsible may have launched a deliberate data-harvesting campaign after discovering many instances involving “too-good-to-be-true” promotional offers.

“The leaked screenshots often featured instances of users entering personal and financial details into seemingly innocent promotional forms.

These offers, promising rewards like a free iPhone 14 or heavily discounted items, were just traps. With prices as low as $3, they often hid deceptive disclaimers about trial periods and auto-renewal charges.”

Leakd estimates that the potential financial value of the looted data trove could be worth north of $85 million.

The firm says users who think their data may have been exposed can take several steps to protect themselves including monitoring financial accounts for suspicious activity, setting up fraud alerts and freezing credit to stop scammers from opening fraudulent accounts.

Generated Image: Midjourney