Eduard Korsinsky
While there are sometimes visible indicators—such as unfamiliar login notifications or unexplained changes in device performance—many breaches occur silently, providing little to no warning. Proactive monitoring is essential. The good news is that checking if your data has been breached can be simple.
Often, the first clue that your data has been breached isn’t an alert; it’s something strange. Before using official tools, watch for these red flags:
- Unexpected Password Reset Emails: Receiving a password reset email you didn’t request is a major sign someone is trying to access your account.
- Strange Activity on Accounts: Check your social media, email, and bank statements for posts, messages, or transactions you don’t recognize.
- Friends Receiving Spam from You: If your contacts get strange messages from your accounts, your login credentials were likely compromised.
- Device Performance Issues: While less common, a suddenly slow computer or new, unfamiliar programs can indicate malware designed to steal data.
Noticing any of these signs means it’s time to investigate further.
The Quickest Way to Check if Your Data Has Been Breached: Online Breach Checkers
The easiest and fastest method to find out if your personal data has been breached is to use a breach checker. These websites aggregate information from hundreds of data breaches to check if your data has been compromised.
Step-by-step:
- Select a Breach Checking Service and Go to Their Website: For example, Have I Been Pwned, Firefox Monitor, or Google Password Checkup
- Enter Your Information: Enter an email address or phone number to check if it appears in a known data breach.
- Review the Results:
- If no breach is found, that’s good news, but it doesn’t guarantee total safety.
- If a breach if found, the service will typically list:
- The breached website/service
- The type of data exposed
- Incident details such as dates
Your everyday software can also help you discover if your information was leaked.
- Google Password Checkup: Built into Chrome and Android, this feature automatically checks your saved passwords against lists of known breached data and will alert you if a password is unsafe.
- Apple Security Recommendations: On your iPhone or Mac, go to Settings > Passwords > Security Recommendations. Apple will flag passwords that have been involved in a breach and will show you which logins are affected.
- Password Managers: Services like 1Password and LastPass often include dark web monitoring features that proactively scan for your personal information and alert you if it’s found.
- Identity Theft Protection Services: For comprehensive monitoring, paid services like LifeLock monitor the dark web for highly sensitive info like your SSN and bank account details, offering another way to know if your data has been breached.
If you are wondering how to take an action after a breach, see our What to Do After a Data Breach page for more detailed steps.
What to Do When You Discover Your Information Has Been Breached
Discovering that your data has fallen into the wrong hands can be distressing, but there are steps you can take right away to help protect yourself:
- Stay Calm and Act Decisively. You’ve identified the problem, which is the first step to solving it.
- Change Your Passwords Immediately. Start with your email account (the key to all others), then change the password for the breached service. Most importantly, change the password on any other account where you reused the same password. This is the most crucial step.
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This adds an extra layer of protection to your login, such as a code from your phone. Even if someone knows your password, they can’t access your account without this second step. Enable 2FA on your email, banking, and social media accounts.
- Be Wary of Phishing Attempts. After a breach, you may receive clever scam emails pretending to be from the affected company. Always be cautious of links in messages and never click them unless you are sure they are legitimate.
- Contact your Financial Institutions and Monitor Financial Statements. If financial data was exposed, contact your bank or credit card provider to report the breach and carefully review your statements for any unauthorized activity.
For more insights on your potential legal options after a data breach, check out our article Can I Sue After a Data Breach?.
How to Build Long-term Defenses after a Data Breach
- Use a Password Manager. This tool creates and stores strong, unique passwords for every account, eliminating the danger of password reuse.
- Never Reuse Passwords. This simple rule is your best defense against credential stuffing attacks, where hackers try a breached password on all your other accounts.
- Enable 2FA Everywhere. Make this a non-negotiable habit for an added layer of security.
Knowing how to know if your data has been breached is an essential skill in the digital age. It moves you from a place of fear to a position of control.
By using free tools like Have I Been Pwned and following the critical steps to secure your accounts, you can reduce your risk and protect your digital identity. Remember, while you can’t prevent breaches from happening, you can absolutely control your response.
FAQs
The easiest and fastest method to find out if your personal data has been breached is to use a breach checker. These websites aggregate information from hundreds of data breaches to check if your data has been compromised.
Immediately change compromised passwords and enable two-factor authentication. Then, consult a data breach attorney to understand your rights. If the hack resulted from a company’s negligence, you may have grounds to seek compensation for damages, time spent, and future monitoring costs.
If your data is breached, you are at risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and targeted phishing scams. Exposed information like emails and passwords can be used to hijack your accounts or try to log into other services you use.
Common signs include unexpected password reset emails, strange posts from your social accounts, friends receiving spam from you, or unfamiliar charges on your financial statements. Unusual device behavior can also be a red flag.
First, confirm your data was exposed using a breach checking tool like Have I Been Pwned. A claim typically qualifies if sensitive data (like your SSN or medical records) was compromised due to a company’s negligence. Contact our firm for a free data breach case evaluation—we analyze the breach’s cause and your damages to determine if you have a valid legal claim for compensation.
Secure your accounts by changing passwords and enabling 2FA. Monitor financial statements closely. Learn your legal rights and options by contacting our data breach lawyers.
Ed Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer protection attorney and the Co-Founder of Levi & Korsinsky LLP. For over 20 years, he has fought for consumers in data breach, privacy, and consumer fraud cases, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide.
A pioneer in mass arbitration, Ed has been featured in Law360 and other national publications for his thought leadership on ensuring fairness and access to justice in consumer claims. His groundbreaking work not only delivers results in the courtroom but also forces corporations to adopt stronger protections for people’s personal information and rights.
Whether protecting victims of data breaches, challenging deceptive advertising, or leading mass consumer filings, Ed’s mission is clear: to level the playing field between consumers and corporations.
