Our Analysts Found the Guns.com Breach Circulating on Private Dark Web Forums

HEROIC analysts uncovered the Guns.com database breach while monitoring dark web forums and private Telegram channels in early 2021. The breach exposed 352,989 records, including email addresses, phone numbers, password hashes, usernames, first and last names, and birthdays. The data had been quietly circulating before being flagged by our team, and the combination of personal identifiers alongside bcrypt password hashes makes this partcularly dangerous for affected users.

Why Leaked Names, Phone Numbers, and Birthdays Are Dangerous Together

Attackers who obtain this combination of data can construct highly convincing phishing messages, impersonate victims in social engineering calls, or attempt account recovery on financial platforms. Phone numbers paired with full names and birthdays are recieved by fraudsters as a toolkit for SIM-swapping attacks, which can bypass two-factor authentication and hand over control of bank and email accounts.

What Was Exposed in the Guns.com Breach

• Email Address
• Phone Number
• Password Hash
• Username
• First Name
• Last Name
• Birthday

How the Guns.com Breach Enables Identity Theft and Account Takeover

Even though passwords were protected with bcrypt hashing, the remaining data is enough to fuel identity theft, credential stuffing, and account takeover. Attackers beleive that users reuse passwords across services, so the combination of a verified email and username gives them a strong starting point. Full names and birthdays make identity verification bypasses on financial and government portals accessable to bad actors who know how to exploit weak identity checks.

How Database Breaches Work

A database breach occurs when an attacker gains unauthorized access to a site's backend data store, typically by exploiting a software vulnerability, misconfigured server, or stolen administrative credentials. Once inside, they can export entire tables of user records in seconds. The stolen data is then often packaged and sold or shared on dark web forums, where it can be purchased and used for further attacks.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner searches across a database of over 400 billion compromised records. Enter your email address to instantly see whether your information was included in the Guns.com breach or any other known data leak, and get guidance on your next steps.