Was your data in the Flashback breach?
Check whether your email address was in it
Check my exposureFree. No password — we email you a six-digit code. This breach and every other one your address appears in.
Flashback (flashback.se) suffered a data breach in 2015 that exposed around 40,256 accounts. If you had an account, some of your personal data may be circulating in leaked databases. The fastest way to know is to check your own email — free, in about 30 seconds, no password required.
What happened
In February 2015, the Swedish forum known as Flashback had sensitive internal data on 40k members published via the tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet. The data was allegedly sold to them via Researchgruppen (The Research Group) who have a history of exposing otherwise anonymous users, primarily those who they believe participate in "troll like" behaviour. The compromised data includes social security numbers, home and email addresses.
Breach record from Have I Been Pwned, CC BY 4.0. Risk analysis by Nullivo.
What was exposed, and why it matters
Not all breaches carry the same risk — what matters is which fields leaked. Here is what the Flashback breach exposed and what each item actually enables:
What to do if you were affected
These steps are ordered for this specific breach — the most urgent action given what leaked comes first.
- Government identifiers
Consider a credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit reference agencies, and watch for accounts you did not open. - Home addresses
Get your address removed from data brokers — they re-list roughly every four months, so this needs repeating. - Email addresses
Treat any message referencing this service with suspicion, and never act on links in unexpected emails. - Confirm you were actually in it
Run a free scan before you spend time on the steps above.
This breach put your details on data-broker sites
Because Flashback exposed home addresses, this is one of the breaches that feeds people-search and data-broker sites. Those sites scrape leaked databases, combine them with public records, and republish the result as a searchable profile — which is how a single breach turns into a permanent public listing. Removal works, but brokers typically re-list within about four months, so it has to be repeated.
See our broker-by-broker removal guides →
How urgent is this now?
This breach is over 11 years old. Old credentials still cause harm — leaked passwords from a decade ago are still tried against new accounts every day.
Remember: a breach can’t be “un-leaked” — once a database is out, it exists in countless copies. The goal is to make the leaked data useless: change what can be changed, lock down what can’t, and remove what has been republished.
Frequently asked questions
What data was exposed in the Flashback breach?
The Flashback breach exposed government identifiers, home addresses, email addresses. The strongest identity-theft material there is — enough to open credit accounts or file fraudulent claims in your name.
How many people were affected by the Flashback breach?
Around 40,256 accounts were exposed, making it a smaller, more targeted breach.
What should I do if I had a Flashback account?
Consider a credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit reference agencies, and watch for accounts you did not open. You can check whether your own email appears in this breach with a free Nullivo scan — no password required.
Breaches that exposed similar data
If the Flashback breach affected you, these breaches exposed comparable information — worth checking too, since leaked datasets are routinely combined.