Catho
HIGH RISKData breach — March 2020
In approximately March 2020, the Brazilian recruitment website Catho was compromised and subsequently appeared alongside 20 other breached websites listed for sale on a dark web marketplace. The breach included almost 11 million records with 1.2 million unique email addresses. Names, usernames and plain text passwords were also exposed. The data was provided to HIBP by breachbase.pw.
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What happened in the Catho data breach?
In approximately March 2020, the Brazilian recruitment website Catho was compromised and subsequently appeared alongside 20 other breached websites listed for sale on a dark web marketplace. The breach included almost 11 million records with 1.2 million unique email addresses. Names, usernames and plain text passwords were also exposed. The data was provided to HIBP by breachbase.pw.
The exposed data included 4 types of personal information. Because passwords were exposed, users who reused their password on other sites are at particular risk. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Catho hacked?
Yes. Catho was breached in March 2020. The breach exposed 1,173,012 records including email addresses, names, passwords. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the Catho breach so dangerous?
The Catho breach exposed 1,173,012 records — that is 1.2M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, names, passwords makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your Catho password against hundreds of other websites. If you reused your password anywhere, those accounts are now at risk. Read more about what happens to your data after a breach.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the Catho breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the Catho breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Catho breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2020 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your Catho password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the Catho breach
Approximately 1,173,012 user records were exposed in the Catho breach in March 2020.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Catho password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full Catho dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Catho password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the Catho breach?
The Catho data breach affected approximately 1,173,012 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with Catho or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the Catho breach
Change your Catho password immediately
Go to Catho and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Catho and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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