Factual
MEDIUM RISKData breach — March 2017
In March 2017, a file containing 8M rows of data allegedly sourced from data aggregator Factual was compiled and later exchanged on the premise it was a "breach". The data contained 2.5M unique email addresses alongside business names, addresses and phone numbers. After consultation with Factual, they advised the data was "publicly available information about businesses and other points of interest that Factual makes available on its website and to customers".
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the Factual data breach?
In March 2017, a file containing 8M rows of data allegedly sourced from data aggregator Factual was compiled and later exchanged on the premise it was a "breach". The data contained 2.5M unique email addresses alongside business names, addresses and phone numbers. After consultation with Factual, they advised the data was "publicly available information about businesses and other points of interest that Factual makes available on its website and to customers".
The exposed data included 4 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Factual hacked?
Yes. Factual was breached in March 2017. The breach exposed 2,461,696 records including email addresses, employers, phone numbers. 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 Factual breach so dangerous?
The Factual breach exposed 2,461,696 records — that is 2.5M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of email addresses, employers, phone numbers 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 Factual 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
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Physical addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Is the Factual breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Factual 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 2017 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 Factual 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 Factual breach
Approximately 2,461,696 user records were exposed in the Factual breach in March 2017.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Factual 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 Factual dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Factual 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 Factual breach?
The Factual data breach affected approximately 2,461,696 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 Factual 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 Factual breach
Change your Factual password immediately
Go to Factual 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 Factual 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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