HIGH RISK BREACH

PayHere Data Breach


Status: Confirmed

1.6M+Records
Mar, 2022Breach
5/2/22Data Posted
8/10Severity
HighThreat Level

Breach Intelligence Summary


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

Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation

Timeline: Breach (Mar, 2022) · Reported (May, 2022) · Leak (5/2/22)

Exposure: 1.6M+ records · Email, IP addresses, Names, Partial credit card data, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Purchases

Status: Confirmed · Risk: High (Financial fraud + Phishing / SIM swap)

Summary

In late March 2022 the Sri Lankan payment gateway PayHere suffered a data breach that exposed more than 65GB of payment records including over 1.5M unique email addresses. The data also included IP and physical addresses names phone numbers purchase histories and partially obfuscated credit card data (card type first 6 and last 4 digits plus expiry date). A month later PayHere published a blog on the incident titled Ensuring Integrity on PayHere Cybersecurity Incident.

About PayHere

PayHere 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 PayHere 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:
High
Signal
Status
Dark web marketplace listings
Detected
Credential stuffing list overlap
Possible
Phishing campaign relevance
Detected
Ransomware affiliate crossover
Possible
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
IP addresses
Names
Partial credit card data
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Purchases
Not confirmed in dataset:
Passwords (plaintext)
Social Security Numbers
Passport numbers

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 1.6M+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
  • The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.

Impact

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

Primary downstream threats include:
  • Targeted phishing referencing PayHere accounts or services
  • Financial fraud and unauthorized transactions
  • 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:
PayHere account updates
Financial transaction confirmations
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 PayHere account across other services.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Review bank statements, credit reports, and loan applications. Consider a credit freeze if SSN or financial data was exposed.
Suppress Personal Data
Remove exposed addresses, phone numbers, and enrichment data from broker networks and search engines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the PayHere data breach?

In Mar, 2022, PayHere experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 1.6M+ records containing personal information.

What data was exposed in the PayHere breach?

The exposed data includes Email, IP addresses, Names, Partial credit card data, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Purchases.

How many records were affected in the PayHere breach?

Approximately 1.6M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Is the PayHere breach confirmed?

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

Is the PayHere 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 PayHere breach?

Rotate passwords associated with PayHere, 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

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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 PayHere
  • 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
Financial Data
Email
Phone
Address