The about.com Leak: 631 Passwords Exposed. Yours Might Be One.

HEROIC analysts identified a file titled "about.com - 631 emails" uploaded to a Telegram channel on 10-Jun-2026. The file contains 631 records tied to about.com accounts, pairing email addresses with plaintext passwords and the URLs of the sites those logins were used on. It is a small file, but every one of those 631 passwords is sitting in plain view for anyone who downloads it.

Why This Is Dangerous

There is no cracking, no guessing, no delay, the password is written right next to the email address in plain text. Whoever has this file can try each login immediately, and the included URL tells them exactly where to try it. Small leaks like this one often move faster through private channels before wider attention catches up, which means the window to react before something happens can be short.

What Was Exposed in the about.com File

• Email addresses (about.com accounts)
• Plaintext passwords
• URLs of the sites where the credentials were used

Why This Matters Even at 631 Records

A small record count does not mean small risk for the people on the list. Attackers can work through 631 entries by hand, testing each one for credential stuffing against email providers, banks, and shopping accounts in hopes the same password was reused elsewhere. Where it was, account takeover follows quickly, and from there identity theft or financial fraud can be the next step, especially if personal or payment information sits behind that login.

How a File Like This Gets Put Together

Small domain-specific leaks like this one typically come from stealer log malware, which infects a device and silently copies saved usernames, passwords, and the sites they belong to. Once collected, the stolen data is sorted by email domain, in this case about.com, and shared or sold through Telegram channels where buyers can pick out credentials tied to a specific type of account.

Check If You Are Affected

If you use an about.com email address, do not wait to find out if you are one of the 631. HEROIC's free breach scanner searches more than 400 billion leaked records to quickly tell you if your information has been compromised and what to do next.