What To Do If Your Email Address Appears in a Data Breach

Finding your email address in a breach can feel alarming, but the best response is methodical rather than panicked.

Identify what was exposed

An incident may expose an email address, password, phone number or other information. The response depends on the data involved.

Change reused passwords

If an exposed password is still used elsewhere, replace it everywhere. Protect your primary email first.

Expect follow-up phishing

After a breach, attackers may send convincing password-reset or security messages. Open services through their official apps or websites instead of unexpected links.

Protect recovery

Enable multifactor authentication and review recovery settings on important accounts.