The Paladins.com Forums Breach Put 551 Gamer Logins on the Dark Web

HEROIC analysts identified this breach affecting Paladins.com Forums, tracing back to an original compromise dated January 1, 2016. The confirmed breach covers 551 accounts, secured originally with vBulletin password hashes.

Why This Is Dangerous

The Paladins.com Forums breach put 551 gamer logins on the dark web, and small does not mean safe. Every one of those accounts is tied to a real email address and password, and both are valuable to attackers running automated login attempts against other services.

What Was Exposed

• Account credentials secured with vBulletin password hashes
• Associated usernames tied to the Paladins.com Forums platform

The original breach record did not list additional data fields beyond account credentials, so HEROIC is reporting only what has been confirmed.

Why This Matters

A breach of 551 accounts might look insignificant next to breaches involving millions of records, but the risk to each individual account holder is identical. If a Paladins forum password was reused on an email account or gaming platform, that account remains exposed to credential stuffing attacks regardless of how small the original breach was.

How This Database Breach Happened

This incident is classified as a database breach, meaning attackers gained direct access to the forum's backend rather than targeting individual members. This typically results from an unpatched vulnerability, SQL injection, or a stolen administrator credential. Once inside, the full user table is exported, and vBulletin's hashing scheme from this era is well documented, making the data relatively easy to crack with modern tools.

Check If You Are Affected

Don't leave it to chance. HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email address against a database of more than 400 billion leaked records, including this Paladins.com Forums breach, and tells you instantly if you were exposed. Run a free scan now.