Suspected Data Breach, Online Mobile Phone Retailer

Augh on 17/05/2022 - 23:59

Suspected Data Breach, online mobile phone retailer
This is based on some research and logic after received some spam emails earlier this month.

In the first week of May received 3 separate emails with just a couple of lines of text, no links.
3rd May 2022: Email 1: Hi <name>, are you here?
5th May 2022: Email2: Hi <Name> HRU, lets meet near <suburb_A>
8th May 2022: : Email3: <Name> its me, lets meet in <suburb_B>
All were sent to my ‘shopping’ email address from different gmail accounts (I assume temporary and throw away), however the sender name was the same in all 3 emails.

<name> being my first name
<suburb_A> being the suburb I live in
<suburb_B> another suburb where a close friend lives.

The email with <suburb_B> is what got my attention, why would the spammer mention a suburb that a friend lives in. A bit of searching through my emails and I found that I had previously (in 2020) purchased a mobile phone for this friend and shipped it to them directly. I have also purchased phones for my self from this same online mobile phone retailer. So this particular retailer would have both suburb_A and suburb_B assoicaited with my email address.

This leads me to suspect a data breach from this retailer which would give the spammer at least, my name, email and the 2 addresses that I have used.

Anyone else with similar spam emails?

Internet

Comments

  • holdenmg on 18/05/2022 - 00:02
    +3

    Domino's?

    Previously ordered online from those suburbs.
    Fwd to:
    [email protected]

    • trustnoone on 18/05/2022 - 01:11

      Agreed, I get the same one, and the suburb it thinks I'm from was the Dominos I used at the time.

    • Daabido on 18/05/2022 - 07:03
      +3

      Bingo. A lovely lady called Margaret would like to meet me at the two suburbs where I get Dominos. I declined even though I received many requests before my email provider started deleting them. A first date at Dominos doesn't bode well.

      • c64 on 18/05/2022 - 10:42

        A first date at Dominos doesn't bode well.

        you just haven't met the right sort of woman …

      • happydude on 18/05/2022 - 11:34

        Yep, Same emails. Also Dominos.

        WE DID IT OZBARGIN!!

  • SF3 on 18/05/2022 - 00:23

    A smoking gun…

  • HairyChickens on 18/05/2022 - 00:27
    +1

    https://haveibeenpwned.com/

  • penguincat on 18/05/2022 - 00:47
    +2

    Suspected Data Breach, online mobile phone retailer

    Any further info you could supply? Even like the state they are in if your not comfy naming the store by name.

    As holdenmg points out that is pretty much was what the domino's hack/breach/leak had years ago and resurfaces yearly. https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/3plvpmk3 it's still alive in 2022 from data collected 5+ years ago.

    So asking has anyone got those types of emails before then the answer is yes lots of people have. Spam emails generally are template based so have zero creativity behind them.
    But if your after from this phone retailer in particular then shrugs as of this post no one knows who the store in question is.

  • AndyC1 on 18/05/2022 - 07:39

    If every suspected data breach by non security trained people was true we would have to shut down every electronic device with a CPU in it.

  • Augh on 18/05/2022 - 14:31

    Yes, Domino's is a very good possibility as I have ordered from suburb_B once and suburb_A a couple of times. However I mostly order from another suburb (suburb_C) which is closer to me, but none of the spam emails mentioning suburb_C.

    The suspected phone retailer I mentioned is Sydney based and has had a data breach 10 years ago, but that was prior to my orders.

    Based on above and @penguincat comments I'd say it was the Domino's data breach.

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