ELEVATED RISK BREACH

Money Bookers Data Breach


Status: Confirmed

4.5M+Records
Jan, 2009Breach
3/17/25Data Posted
7/10Severity
ModerateThreat Level

Breach Intelligence Summary


Entity: Money Bookers · Actor: Unknown · Source: DataBreach.com / ObscureIQ intelligence

Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation

Timeline: Breach (Jan, 2009) · Reported (Nov, 2015) · Leak (3/17/25)

Exposure: 4.5M+ records · Dates of birth, Email, Home Address, IP addresses, Name, Names, Phone Number, Phone numbers, Physical addresses

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

Summary

In 2009 Moneybookers now known as Skrill experienced a significant data breach that compromised the personal information of approximately 4.5 million customers. The exposed data included names email addresses home addresses dates of birth and IP addresses. The breach remained undisclosed until October 2015 when the compromised data surfaced on the dark web. Investigations revealed that the intrusion occurred through a compromised virtual private network (VPN) account allowing unauthorized access to the company’s production database.

About Money Bookers

Money Bookers 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 Money Bookers 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:
5+ years (high persistence)

Dates of birth are permanent and addresses change slowly. Combined with other fields, this data sustains long-tail targeting risk.

Data Points Exposed

Data observed in the leaked dataset:
Dates of birth
Email
Home Address
IP addresses
Name
Names
Phone Number
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Not confirmed in dataset:
Passwords (plaintext)
Social Security Numbers
Payment card data

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 4.5M+ 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 Money Bookers accounts or services
  • SIM-swap attempts where phone numbers are present
  • Physical mail scams and address-based identity verification fraud
  • Age/DOB used to bypass identity verification questions
  • 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:
Money Bookers 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 Money Bookers 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 Money Bookers data breach?

In Jan, 2009, Money Bookers experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 4.5M+ records containing personal information.

What data was exposed in the Money Bookers breach?

The exposed data includes Dates of birth, Email, Home Address, IP addresses, Name, Names, Phone Number, Phone numbers, Physical addresses.

How many records were affected in the Money Bookers breach?

Approximately 4.5M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Is the Money Bookers breach confirmed?

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

Is the Money Bookers 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 Money Bookers breach?

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

Protect Yourself

Check If You’re Affected

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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.

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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 Money Bookers
  • Or simply concerned about credential reuse

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

Services
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Classification Tags

Data Exfiltration
Email
Phone
Address