Master Deeds
MEDIUM RISKData breach — March 2017
In March 2017, a 27GB database backup file named "Master Deeds" was sent to HIBP by a supporter of the project. Upon detailed analysis later that year, the file was found to contain the personal data of tens of millions of living and deceased South African residents. The data included extensive personal attributes such as names, addresses, ethnicities, genders, birth dates, government issued personal identification numbers and 2.2 million email addresses. At the time of publishing, it's alleged the data was sourced from Dracore Data Sciences (Dracore is yet to publicly confirm or deny the data was sourced from their systems). On 18 October 2017, the file was found to have been published to a publicly accessible web server where it was located at the root of an IP address with directory listing enabled. The file was dated 8 April 2015.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the Master Deeds data breach?
In March 2017, a 27GB database backup file named "Master Deeds" was sent to HIBP by a supporter of the project. Upon detailed analysis later that year, the file was found to contain the personal data of tens of millions of living and deceased South African residents. The data included extensive personal attributes such as names, addresses, ethnicities, genders, birth dates, government issued personal identification numbers and 2.2 million email addresses. At the time of publishing, it's alleged the data was sourced from Dracore Data Sciences (Dracore is yet to publicly confirm or deny the data was sourced from their systems). On 18 October 2017, the file was found to have been published to a publicly accessible web server where it was located at the root of an IP address with directory listing enabled. The file was dated 8 April 2015.
The exposed data included 13 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Master Deeds hacked?
Yes. Master Deeds was breached in March 2017. The breach exposed 2,257,930 records including dates of birth, deceased statuses, email addresses. 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 Master Deeds breach so dangerous?
The Master Deeds breach exposed 2,257,930 records — that is 2.3M people whose personal data is now circulating on the dark web. The combination of dates of birth, deceased statuses, email addresses 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 Master Deeds breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Deceased statuses — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
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
Ethnicities — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Genders — 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
Home ownership statuses — reveals your approximate location and internet provider
Job titles — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Nationalities — 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 Master Deeds breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds breach
Approximately 2,257,930 user records were exposed in the Master Deeds breach in March 2017.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds breach?
The Master Deeds data breach affected approximately 2,257,930 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 Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds breach
Change your Master Deeds password immediately
Go to Master Deeds 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 Master Deeds 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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