Find out if your personal data has fallen into the wrong hands online

Unfortunately, no one is completely immune to having their personal data stolen on the Internet. — AFP Relaxnews

One of the biggest fears of Internet users is having their personal data stolen when a service or network falls victim to hackers, which happens frequently. No company is safe from mass data theft, including the GAFAM tech giants. Fortunately, a handy online tool can tell you if your email address or phone number has fallen into the wrong hands.

Most of the time, the data collected includes the surnames, first names, telephone numbers, email addresses and professions of Internet users. In the most serious cases, bank details can also be stolen.

To find out if your email address or your telephone number is in the wrong hands, and therefore potentially other data too, head to the Have I Been Pwned website. This leading site lists all the data reported as stolen by online sites and services. Simply enter your email address to find out if it appears once or several times.

If this is the case, you'll be given a list of hacked or corrupted sites and services. You should then immediately go and change all the relevant passwords on these platforms, even if the attack was several months or years ago. It is also highly recommended to switch to dual authentication, where possible.

The same service is provided for telephone numbers. If yours is one of those hacked, you should remain highly cautious, especially when faced with any suspicious messages, calls or SMS. – AFP Relaxnews