Breach Database / Genesis Market

▍Yes — Genesis Market was breached.

• 8 million accounts affected
• Breach occurred 2023-04-05 · genesis.market
• Verified entry in the Have I Been Pwned catalog

What happened

In April 2023, the stolen identity marketplace Genesis Market was shut down by the FBI and a coalition of law enforcement agencies across the globe in "Operation Cookie Monster". The service traded in "browser fingerprints" which enabled criminals to impersonate victims and access their online services. As many of the impacted accounts did not include email addresses, "8M" is merely an approximation intended to indicate scale. Other personal data compromised by the service included names, addresses and credit card information, although not all individuals had each of these fields exposed.

What data was exposed

• Browser user agent details
• Credit card CVV
• Credit cards
• Dates of birth
• Email addresses
• Names
• Passwords
• Phone numbers
• Physical addresses
• Usernames

What to do right now

1. Change your password for this service now. And change it anywhere you reused the same password — attackers try leaked passwords on other sites within hours ("credential stuffing").
2. Turn on two-factor authentication. Even a leaked password is useless against an account protected by a second factor. Prefer an authenticator app over SMS.
3. Watch your card and bank statements. Set up transaction alerts, and consider a card freeze or replacement if the exposure included full card numbers.
4. Be alert for smishing and SIM-swap attempts. Treat unexpected texts and "carrier" calls with suspicion; add a PIN/port-freeze with your mobile carrier.
5. Watch for targeted phishing mail. A leaked home address makes postal and doorstep scams more convincing.
6. Expect convincing phishing emails. Attackers use breached details to write personalized emails. Be suspicious of any message referencing this service.
7. Check your other accounts on Have I Been Pwned. Your email address may appear in other breaches you don't know about yet.
8. Monitor the apps you use going forward. Clearly watches the breach record for the companies behind your apps and alerts you the moment one appears.

Breach data from Have I Been Pwned. Listing here means the service appears in the public breach record — not that your personal data was affected.