Our Analysts Found the Annunci69 Breach Circulating in Telegram Groups

Our analysts found the Annunci69 database actively circulating on private Telegram channels and underground forums in early 2025, well over six years after the original breach took place in February 2018. The dataset contains 527,312 records from the Italian adult-oriented social networking platform, with each record holding a user's email address and their password stored in plaintext. Finding this dataset still in active circulation is concerning because it means threat actors are not treating it as stale data. They are using it right now in credential stuffing campaigns, and the plaintext format means there is no barrier to doing so. The sensitivity of the platform adds another layer of risk since users would likely prefer this association to remain private.

Why Exposed Passwords From an Adult Platform Create Unique Privacy Risks

When a sensitive or adult-oriented platform is breached, the harm goes beyond simple account compromise. Attackers can use the fact that someone had an account on this type of site as leverage for extortion attempts, targeting people who would prefer that information remain private. Beyond that, the email and plaintext password combination makes credential stuffing trivially easy. If you used the same password on your email account, banking portal, or workplace systems, those accounts are directly at risk. The breach data has been seperated from its original platform and is now a weapon that can be pointed at any service you use.

What Was Exposed in the Annunci69 Breach

• Email Address
• Plaintext Password

Why This Breach Remains a Live Threat for Identity Theft and Account Takeover

With over half a million plaintext credentials still in circulation, the Annunci69 breach presents a steady ongoing risk. Credential stuffing tools can work through this entire dataset in hours, testing each email and password pair against hundreds of platforms at once. Successful hits can lead to account takeover, where attackers gain full control of your email, social media, or financial accounts. From there, identity theft and financial fraud become straightforward next steps. The risk is amplified by the fact that many people recieved no notification at the time of the breach and may never have changed the passwords they used on that platform.

How a Database Breach Works

A database breach occurs when an attacker identifies and exploits a vulnerability in a website to gain unauthorized access to the underlying data storage system. Once inside, they can copy the entire user database, which may contain email addresses, usernames, passwords, and other personal details. When passwords are stored in plaintext, as they were in the Annunci69 breach, the attacker receives the actual readable passwords with no need to crack or decode them. The stolen database is then sold, shared, or published in online criminal marketplaces and Telegram channels, where it remains available for anyone to download and use for years afterward.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner searches more than 400 billion compromised records to tell you instantly whether your email address appeared in the Annunci69 breach or any other known data leak. Run a free scan now to understand your exposure and take action to secure your accounts before someone else gets there first.