Banorte banorte.com Banorte data breach: what happened and what to do
Reviewed by Anthon Wansland
Head of Product & Co-Founder
Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.
Records from Mexican bank Banorte were dumped on a hacking forum in August 2022. HIBP counts 2.1 million accounts, including names, emails, phones, addresses, government ID numbers and account balances. Banorte called the data outdated.
View all 13,118 breaches- Breach date
- 18 Aug 2014
- Affected
- 2,107,000
- Data exposed
- Account balances, Email addresses, Genders, Government issued IDs, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses
- Verified
- Yes
- Last updated
Source: Have I Been Pwned (CC BY 4.0)
What happened
In August 2022, records from the Mexican bank Banorte were published on a hacking forum. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) counts 2,107,000 accounts and dates the breach to 18 August 2014, based on feedback from its subscribers that the data may be around 8 years old. Banorte has said the data is outdated, and it hasn't said how far back it goes.
Krebs on Security reported that a seller had claimed to hold data on more than 10 million Banorte customers. A security firm sent a cease-and-desist letter saying the offer was fake. According to Krebs, the forum's administrator responded by buying the data and leaking it for anyone to download. HIBP's count of 2.1 million is of unique email addresses.
What was exposed
HIBP lists account balances, email addresses, genders, government issued IDs, names, phone numbers and physical addresses. The government IDs are RFC numbers, Mexico's tax ID. No passwords are listed.
What that lets criminals do
A name, address, phone number, tax ID and account balance is a strong kit for bank impersonation. A caller who knows your balance and your RFC can sound like the bank's fraud team. The balance also tells criminals who is worth targeting. Because phone numbers were exposed, text message phishing is likely too.
What to do now
Treat any call, text or email that claims to be your bank with suspicion, even if it knows details about you. Hang up and call the number on your card or the bank's official website. Check your statements for transactions you don't recognise.
Sources checked: haveibeenpwned.com, krebsonsecurity.com, consumer.ftc.gov
Last verified against the official page:
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Don't trust a caller just because they know your details
Your name, phone number and balance were exposed, so a caller can sound convincing. Hang up and call the number on your card. The FTC explains the pattern: how to recognize phishing.
- 2
Review your bank statements
Look for transactions you don't recognise and report them to your bank straight away. If you live in the US and think your identity was misused, see IdentityTheft.gov.
- 3
Consider a credit freeze if you live in the US
Tax ID numbers were exposed. If you're a US resident who also holds Mexican accounts, a free credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion limits new credit being opened in your name: FTC on credit freezes.
- 4
Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches
Serus runs a free scan of your email and phone number against breach databases and the dark web. If something turns up, it alerts you and tells you what to do next. Serus can't remove data that has already leaked, but it can tell you which of your accounts are exposed. Run a free scan.
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the Banorte data breach?
If you were a Banorte customer, your details may be among the 2,107,000 accounts HIBP lists. Search your email on HIBP or run a free Serus scan.
What data was exposed in the Banorte breach?
Account balances, email addresses, genders, government issued IDs (RFC tax numbers), names, phone numbers and physical addresses, according to HIBP.
Is the Banorte data current?
Banorte has said the data is outdated, but it hasn't said how old it is. HIBP's subscribers suggest it may date to 2014.
Should I change my password?
HIBP doesn't list passwords as exposed. The bigger risk is bank impersonation, so verify any contact claiming to be Banorte yourself.
Sources
- Have I Been Pwned: Banorte
- Have I Been Pwned: Banorte Data Breach · haveibeenpwned.com
- When Efforts to Contain a Data Breach Backfire · krebsonsecurity.com
- How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams · consumer.ftc.gov
- Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts · consumer.ftc.gov
- IdentityTheft.gov · identitytheft.gov
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