ELEVATED RISK BREACH

Lead Hunter Data Breach


Status: Confirmed

68.7M+Records
Mar, 2020Breach
6/3/20Data Posted
6/10Severity
ModerateThreat Level

Breach Intelligence Summary


Entity: Lead Hunter · Actor: Unknown · Source: Have I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence

Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation

Timeline: Breach (Mar, 2020) · Reported (Jun, 2020) · Leak (6/3/20)

Exposure: 68.7M+ records · Email, Genders, IP addresses, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses

Status: Confirmed · Risk: Moderate (Phishing / SIM swap)

Summary

In March 2020, a massive trove of personal information referred to as “Lead Hunter” was provided to HIBP after being found left exposed on a publicly facing Elasticsearch server. The data contained 69 million unique email addresses across 110 million rows of data accompanied by additional personal information including names phone numbers genders and physical addresses. At the time of publishing, the breach could not be attributed to those responsible for obtaining and exposing it. The data was provided to HIBP by dehashed.com.

About Lead Hunter

Lead Hunter is the organization affected by this breach. User data may have been generated through account creation, service usage, or business operations.

If you have interacted with Lead Hunter in any capacity, your data may be included in this breach.

Threat Actor: Unknown

The threat actor responsible for this breach has not been publicly identified or confirmed at this time.

Reported or suspected access method:
  • Under investigation

Breach Exploitation Status

Threat Activity:
Moderate
Signal
Status
Dark web marketplace listings
Detected
Credential stuffing list overlap
Possible
Phishing campaign relevance
Possible
Ransomware affiliate crossover
Unknown
Law enforcement investigation visibility
Unknown

Data Longevity:
3–5 years

Phone numbers and addresses change over time but remain valid long enough for sustained exploitation campaigns.

Data Points Exposed

Data observed in the leaked dataset:
Email
Genders
IP addresses
Names
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Not confirmed in dataset:
Passwords (plaintext)
Social Security Numbers
Payment card data

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 68.7M+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
  • The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.

Impact

This breach carries moderate risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.

Primary downstream threats include:
  • Targeted phishing referencing Lead Hunter accounts or services
  • SIM-swap attempts where phone numbers are present
  • Physical mail scams and address-based identity verification fraud
  • Data broker enrichment and resale

Recommendations for Impacted Individuals

If you believe your information may be included:

Check Your Exposure
If you are an ObscureIQ client, this breach has been indexed into your exposure profile.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Expect Targeted Phishing
Watch for messages referencing:
Lead Hunter account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Secure Your Email and MFA
Enable MFA immediately on email first, then financial platforms.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Rotate Reused Passwords
Change any credentials shared with your Lead Hunter account across other services.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Monitor accounts associated with your exposed email for unauthorized activity.
Suppress Personal Data
Remove exposed addresses, phone numbers, and enrichment data from broker networks and search engines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the Lead Hunter data breach?

In Mar, 2020, Lead Hunter experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 68.7M+ records containing personal information.

What data was exposed in the Lead Hunter breach?

The exposed data includes Email, Genders, IP addresses, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses.

How many records were affected in the Lead Hunter breach?

Approximately 68.7M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Is the Lead Hunter breach confirmed?

Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.

Is the Lead Hunter breach data being used by criminals?

Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.

What should I do if I was affected by the Lead Hunter breach?

Rotate passwords associated with Lead Hunter, enable multi-factor authentication on email and financial accounts, and monitor for suspicious activity.

Protect Yourself

Check If You’re Affected

Enter your email to check if your data appears in this breach.

Get Free Breach Alerts

Be the first to know when new breaches are disclosed. Free forever.

High-Risk? Get an Exposure Audit

Executives, public figures, and high-net-worth individuals face elevated risk. Our team provides full-spectrum exposure audits and threat monitoring.

Request Consultation

Corporate Accountability

Organizations that collect personal data have a duty to implement reasonable safeguards and to notify affected individuals when breaches occur.

Scope assessments may evolve as investigations continue. Users should not rely solely on early estimates when making risk decisions.

ObscureIQ Advisory

We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.

If you are:
  • A public-facing individual
  • A high-profile executive
  • A customer of Lead Hunter
  • Or simply concerned about credential reuse

We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.

Services
AuditsWipesThreat MonitoringTraining

Classification Tags

Data Exfiltration
Email
Phone
Address