Was your data in the ViewFines 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.
ViewFines (viewfines.co.za) suffered a data breach in 2018 that exposed around 777,649 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 May 2018, the South African website for viewing traffic fines online known as ViewFines suffered a data breach. Over 934k records containing 778k unique email addresses were exposed and included names, phone numbers, government issued IDs and passwords stored in plain text.
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 ViewFines 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. - Passwords
Change this password everywhere you have reused it, starting with your email account — whoever controls your email can reset everything else. - Phone numbers
Move two-factor authentication off SMS to an authenticator app or passkey, and add a port-out PIN with your mobile provider. - Names and usernames
Search your usual username to see what else it exposes, and use distinct handles for sensitive accounts. - 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.
How urgent is this now?
This breach is over 8 years old. Old credentials still cause harm — leaked passwords from a decade ago are still tried against new accounts every day.
Passwords are the reason breach age matters less than people expect. Leaked credentials are compiled into wordlists that get tried against new services for years afterwards, so a password exposed here is unsafe to use anywhere, ever again.
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 ViewFines breach?
The ViewFines breach exposed government identifiers, passwords, phone numbers, names and usernames, 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 ViewFines breach?
Around 777,649 accounts were exposed, making it a mid-sized breach.
What should I do if I had a ViewFines 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 ViewFines breach affected you, these breaches exposed comparable information — worth checking too, since leaked datasets are routinely combined.