From December 2024 to Today: 326 HQ Hotmail Logins Still Exposed

HEROIC analysts identified a combolist circulating on Telegram, uploaded under the file name "x416 HQ Hotmails ared19 uploaded by a Telegram User" and dated 10-Dec-2024. Despite the "416" in its name, the file's verified count is 326 records pairing Hotmail email addresses with plaintext passwords, along with associated URLs tied to the accounts they unlock.

Why This Combolist Is Dangerous

Because the passwords in this file are stored in plaintext, anyone who obtains it can immediately try each email and password pair against other websites without needing to break any encryption. If you have reused a password across more than one account, one exposed credential here can give an attacker a working key to your email, banking, or social media logins.

What Was Exposed

• Hotmail email addresses
• Plaintext passwords
• Associated URLs

Why This Matters

Time does not make a leak like this safer. Credentials from a file dated back to December 2024 can still be tested today, and passwords that were valid then are often still valid now if they were never changed. Combolists marketed as "high quality" are especially attractive to attackers because the credentials inside are more likely to still be active, making files like this one effective fuel for credential stuffing attacks against banks, retailers, and email providers. A single working match can lead to account takeover, identity theft, or direct financial fraud.

How Combolists Work

A combolist is a compiled text file of email and password combinations, gathered from older breaches, stealer log infections, or scraped credential dumps and repackaged for resale or free distribution on platforms like Telegram. Criminals load these files into automated credential-stuffing tools that quietly test every pair against dozens of popular sites and flag any that still work. With 326 records here, that process runs in minutes, no matter how long the file has been sitting online.

Check If You Are Affected

If you use a Hotmail, Outlook, or any other email address and want to know whether your credentials appear in this or any other leak, HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email against a database of more than 400 billion leaked records. It takes seconds to check and gives you a clear next step if your information turns up.