The ‘Valid Hotmail 900x’ Combolist Could Unlock Your Email and More

HEROIC analysts identified a combolist labeled 'valid hotmail 900x GOOD 80,' uploaded by a Telegram user and dated April 16, 2024. The file contains 851 records of Hotmail email addresses paired with plaintext passwords and the URLs those credentials access. Why this is dangerous: the file's own label, marking these as 'valid' and 'good,' means the credentials were likely tested and confirmed working before the list was shared. That verification step makes this data more dangerous than an untested dump, since an attacker knows the logins succeed before they even try. What was exposed: Hotmail email addresses, plaintext passwords, and the URLs tied to each login. Why this matters: a working Hotmail login is rarely just one account. The same password often unlocks linked services, recovery emails for other accounts, and any site where the password was reused. That single point of entry can chain into credential stuffing across banking, shopping, and social platforms, leading to account takeover, identity theft, and financial fraud that reaches far beyond the original inbox. How combolists work: a combolist is a list of email and password pairs, frequently sourced from stealer logs or older breaches, that criminals sort, filter, and sometimes verify before distributing. Lists marked 'valid' or 'good' have typically been run through a checker tool that confirms the login still works, making them more valuable and more immediately dangerous to whoever the credentials belong to. Check if you are affected: HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email against a database of more than 400 billion leaked records, including combolists like this one. Run a scan to see if your Hotmail account was part of this exposure and find out which passwords to change first.