boAt boat-lifestyle.com boAt 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.
In March 2024 the Indian audio brand boAt suffered a data breach. Have I Been Pwned lists 7,528,985 customer records with names, email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses, later published on a hacking forum.
View all 13,118 breaches- Breach date
- 25 Mar 2024
- Affected
- 7,528,985
- Data exposed
- Email addresses, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses
- Verified
- Yes
- Last updated
Source: Have I Been Pwned (CC BY 4.0)
What happened
boAt is an Indian audio and wearables brand. Have I Been Pwned dates the breach to March 2024 and lists 7,528,985 customer records. The data was subsequently published on a clear web hacking forum. Forbes India reported on the leak of data on about 7.5 million customers.
Sources checked: haveibeenpwned.com, forbesindia.com, consumer.ftc.gov
Last verified against the official page:
What was exposed
The records contained names, email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses. Have I Been Pwned lists no passwords or payment details in this breach.
What that lets criminals do
Without passwords in the data, the main risk is contact. A name, phone number and delivery address let a scammer pose as a courier, a refund desk or boAt support. The FTC's advice on imposter scams applies in any country: don't give codes or pay anyone who contacts you first.
What to do
You don't need to change a password for this breach unless you reused your boAt one. Your effort is better spent on spotting contact scams.
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Expect phishing that mentions the breach
Emails, texts and calls that quote your name or a real purchase look more convincing. Don't click links or open attachments in unexpected messages; go to the company's site yourself instead. The FTC explains how to spot phishing.
- 2
Never share one-time codes or pay someone who contacts you first
Callers who know your name and address may claim to be from a delivery service, a bank or boAt. Hang up and call the number printed on your order or on the official website. The FTC describes how imposter scams work.
- 3
Change your boAt password if you reuse it
Passwords weren't listed in this breach. If you used the same password on boAt and on other accounts, change those anyway and turn on two-factor authentication.
- 4
Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches
Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. A free Serus scan also checks breach databases and the dark web and alerts you when your details appear. Serus can't remove data from a breach, so the steps above matter most.
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the boAt breach?
Have I Been Pwned lists 7,528,985 records. Search your email address there to see whether yours is included.
What was exposed in the boAt breach?
Names, email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses.
Were passwords exposed in the boAt breach?
Have I Been Pwned doesn't list passwords for this breach. Change a reused password anyway.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
