HIGH SEVERITYSpam

ApexSMS Data Breach

Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence

7.0Severity
88.4MRecords
8Data Fields
2019Year

Impact & Downstream Threats

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

Primary downstream threats:
  • SIM swap attacks where phone numbers are present
  • Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
  • Doxxing risk from physical address exposure

Breach Intelligence

EntityApexSMS
Breach DateJanuary 2019
Disclosure45660.0
Records Exposed~88.4M
Attack VectorMisconfiguration
SourceHave I Been Pwned / DataBreach.com / ObscureIQ intelligence
StatusConfirmed

Executive Summary

In May 2019, news broke of a massive SMS spam operation known as "ApexSMS" which was discovered after a MongoDB instance of the same name was found exposed without a password. The incident leaked over 80M records with 23M unique email addresses alongside names, phone numbers and carriers, geographic locations (state and country), genders and IP addresses.

About ApexSMS

ApexSMS is an organization whose data was exposed in this breach. The dataset has been verified by ObscureIQ intelligence and indexed across breach notification platforms.

Data Points Exposed

Verified fields in the released dataset:
Email addresses
Full names
Gender
IP addresses
Phone numbers
Physical addresses

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 88.4M records identified in breach intelligence sources.
  • The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.

Recommended Actions

⚠️ Do not assume this is low sensitivity.

Expect Targeted Phishing
Watch for emails referencing this breach. Verify communications through official channels.
Secure Email & Enable MFA
Email compromise is often the first pivot point. Enable multi-factor authentication.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Watch for unauthorized credit applications and suspicious activity.
Check Your Exposure
ObscureIQ clients: this breach is indexed in your profile.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the ApexSMS data breach?

In January 2019, ApexSMS experienced a data breach that exposed approximately 88.4M records containing personal information.

What data was exposed?

The exposed data includes fields such as email address, full name, gender, geographic locations, ip address.

How many records were affected?

Approximately 88.4M records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Protect Yourself

Check If You’re Affected

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High-Risk? Get an Exposure Audit

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Request Consultation

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 ApexSMS
  • Or concerned about credential reuse
Services
AuditsWipesThreat MonitoringTraining

Classification Tags

MisconfigurationSpamEmailPhoneAddress

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