TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate confirm data breach affecting 20M customers

Gandalf_The_Grey

Level 76
Thread author
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Apr 24, 2016
6,601
PeopleConnect, the owners of the TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate background check services, confirmed they suffered a data breach after hackers leaked a 2019 backup database containing the info of millions of customers.

TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate are subscription-based services allowing customers to perform background checks on other people. When conducting background checks, the sites will use publicly scraped data, federal, state, and court records, criminal records, social media, and other sources.

In 2020, PubRec, LLC (owners of TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate) merged with PeopleConnect Holdings, Inc. (the owners of Classmates and Intellius), creating a massive portfolio of services specialized in finding information about people.
After BleepingComputer and Troy Hunt of Have I Been Pwned contacted PeopleConnect about the data leak earlier this week, the company immediately launched an investigation and was transparent about its intentions to disclose the incident.

Today, PeopleConnect published notices on both Instant Checkmate and TruthFinder confirming that both services suffered a data breach.

"We learned recently that a list, including name, email, telephone number in some instances, as well as securely encrypted passwords and expired and inactive password reset tokens, of TruthFinder subscribers was being discussed and made available in an online forum," reads the data security incident notices.

"We have confirmed that the list was created several years ago and appears to include all customer accounts created between 2011 and 2019. The published list originated inside our company."

While PeopleConnect is still investigating the incident, the company says it appears to be an "inadvertent leak or theft of a particular list."

The company has engaged with a third-party cybersecurity firm to investigate the incident and found no evidence of their network being breached.

PeopleConnect warns to be on the lookout for targeted phishing attacks and that they will provide further updates as more information becomes available.

Hunt will be adding the leaked data to Have I Been Pwned today, and users will be able to use the service to confirm if their account information was exposed.
 

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top