Experian (South Africa)
MEDIUM RISKData breach — August 2020
In August 2020, Experian South Africa suffered a data breach which exposed the personal information of tens of millions of individuals. Only 1.3M of the records contained email addresses, whilst most contained government issued identity numbers, names, addresses, occupations and employers, amongst other person information.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the Experian (South Africa) data breach?
In August 2020, Experian South Africa suffered a data breach which exposed the personal information of tens of millions of individuals. Only 1.3M of the records contained email addresses, whilst most contained government issued identity numbers, names, addresses, occupations and employers, amongst other person information.
The exposed data included 6 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Experian (South Africa) hacked?
Yes. Experian (South Africa) was breached in August 2020. The breach exposed 1,284,637 records including email addresses, employers, government issued ids. 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 Experian (South Africa) breach so dangerous?
The Experian (South Africa) breach exposed 1,284,637 records — that is 1.3M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, employers, government issued ids makes this a medium-risk breach that should be addressed promptly.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the Experian (South Africa) breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Employers — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Government issued IDs — enables full identity theft including fraudulent credit applications
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Occupations — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Is the Experian (South Africa) breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) breach
Approximately 1,284,637 user records were exposed in the Experian (South Africa) breach in August 2020.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) breach?
The Experian (South Africa) data breach affected approximately 1,284,637 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 Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) breach
Change your Experian (South Africa) password immediately
Go to Experian (South Africa) 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 Experian (South Africa) 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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