Breach Database / Bell (2014 breach)
Yes — Bell (2014 breach) was breached.
- 20,902 accounts affected
- Breach occurred 2014-02-01 · bell.ca
- Verified entry in the Have I Been Pwned catalog
What happened
In February 2014, Bell Canada suffered a data breach via the hacker collective known as NullCrew. The breach included data from multiple locations within Bell and exposed email addresses, usernames, user preferences and a number of unencrypted passwords and credit card data from 40,000 records containing just over 20,000 unique email addresses and usernames.
What data was exposed
- Credit cards
- Genders
- Passwords
- Usernames
What to do right now
- Change your password for this service now. And change it anywhere you reused the same password — attackers try leaked passwords on other sites within hours ("credential stuffing").
- Turn on two-factor authentication. Even a leaked password is useless against an account protected by a second factor. Prefer an authenticator app over SMS.
- Watch your card and bank statements. Set up transaction alerts, and consider a card freeze or replacement if the exposure included full card numbers.
- Expect convincing phishing emails. Attackers use breached details to write personalized emails. Be suspicious of any message referencing this service.
- Check your other accounts on Have I Been Pwned. Your email address may appear in other breaches you don't know about yet.
- Monitor the apps you use going forward. Clearly watches the breach record for the companies behind your apps and alerts you the moment one appears.
Breach data from Have I Been Pwned. Listing here means the service appears in the public breach record — not that your personal data was affected.