Researchers Link the ‘Valid’ Combolist to 2,204 Exposed US Logins

HEROIC Researchers Link the "Valid" Combolist to 2,204 US Logins

On February 6, 2026, HEROIC researchers tracked a combolist labeled "valid" as it circulated on a Telegram channel. Their analysis found 2,204 records pairing email addresses with plaintext passwords and the URLs of the accounts they access, tied to United States users.

Why Researchers Flagged the "Valid" Label as a Warning Sign

According to HEROIC's analysts, files labeled "valid" have typically already been tested against real login pages, meaning the credentials inside are more likely to still work than an average unverified dump. Combined with plaintext passwords and matching URLs, researchers note that this file gives an attacker everything needed to log in immediately, with no extra effort required.

What Researchers Found Exposed in the 2,204-Record File

• Email addresses
• Plaintext passwords
• URLs tied to each account

Why Researchers Say This Matters for the People Involved

HEROIC researchers point to credential stuffing as the most immediate risk: automated tools can run each of these 2,204 email and password pairs against other popular sites. Anyone who reused a password from this list elsewhere faces the risk of account takeover, identity theft, and financial fraud well beyond the original leak.

How Researchers Say "Valid" Combolists Like This Get Made

Researchers explain that combolists like this one start as raw stolen credentials, often pulled from stealer malware, phishing pages, or older breaches. Before distribution, sellers typically run the data through checker tools that confirm which logins still work, then label the surviving entries "valid" to signal quality to buyers on Telegram. That verification step is exactly why analysts treat files like this one as higher priority than unchecked dumps of similar size.

Check If Your Login Is Among the 2,204 Records Found

HEROIC researchers recommend checking your email address against this leak directly rather than waiting to see if it causes a problem. HEROIC's free breach scanner searches a database of more than 400 billion leaked records, so you can find out in moments and change any password still in use.