OSINT for Security: How to Check if Your Data Has Been Leaked and What to Do

[Good Carder]

From a carder to carders who want to stay in the shadows. In 2026, your personal data isn't just information, it's ammunition. Ammunition that can be used against you. You think you're protected because you don't share your data online. But your data is already out there. You didn't put it there, but it's there. Huge data leaks happen every week. Your passport, tax identification number, address, phone number, photos — all of this has been floating around the dark web and in Telegram bots for a long time. And as a carder, I'll tell you honestly: if you don't control your digital footprint, you're sitting ducks. And it doesn't matter who you are — a carder or an ordinary user. In this article, I'll show you how to find your leaked data, how to understand where it came from, and, most importantly, what to do with it. Not to steal. But to protect.

Part 1. Have I Been Pwned: Your Personal Log Detector​

Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) is perhaps the most well-known and reliable free breach checking service. It was created back in 2013 and has since become the gold standard in its niche. HIBP aggregates data from hundreds of public breaches and allows you to check if your email, phone number, or password was involved in any of them.

As of early 2026, the HIBP database contained over 17 billion compromised records. The service works simply: you enter your email address, and it returns a list of breaches in which it was found. HIBP can also report the specific data that was compromised: passwords, names, phone numbers, addresses, IP addresses, and even credit card information.

Here are just a few major breaches that were added to the HIBP database in 2026:

• BreachForums Version 5 Data Breach (March 27, 2026) - data leak from one of the largest English-language hacker forums.
• The Provecho Data Breach (March 3, 2026) was a data breach from a recipe website that affected 713,000 unique email addresses.
• Marcus & Millichap Data Breach (May 3, 2026) - A data breach at a major real estate company.
• Aman Data Breach (April 20, 2026).
• Figure Data Breach (February 18, 2026).
• The CTT Data Breach (April 2026) was a data breach at Portugal's national postal service that affected 468,000 email addresses, as well as names, phone numbers, and parcel tracking numbers.

HIBP is also integrated into the Mozilla Monitor service, which provides advanced leak monitoring and notification capabilities. If you haven't yet verified your HIBP account, do so now — it only takes a minute and could save you a lot of trouble.

Part 2. DeHashed: Deep Mining for $20​

HIBP is a great free tool for initial screening, but it only scratches the surface of leaks. If you want the full picture, you need DeHashed. This paid service is a true search giant for OSINT. DeHashed allows you to search not only by email, but also by nickname, IP address, domain, name, address, and even password hash. It indexes billions of records from thousands of sources: public leaks, darknet forums, pastebins, and even some closed databases.

DeHashed is positioned as a security solution and is used by law enforcement, penetration testers, and cybersecurity companies to monitor leaks. The platform allows searching by multiple fields using wildcards and provides an API for integration into your own tools. Unlike HIBP, DeHashed often contains already compromised passwords (i.e., passwords in cleartext, not hashes), making it a much more dangerous tool in the hands of attackers, but also more useful for security purposes.

DeHashed is a paid service, but its price (around $20 per month) is a small price to pay for security, especially if you take your digital hygiene seriously. Using DeHashed, you can not only find out which of your data has already been leaked but also monitor new leaks in real time.

Part 3. Telegram Bots: A Backdoor to Your Data​

Telegram has long since become more than just a messenger, but a massive platform for the black market for data. "Punching" bots are an integral part of this market. These bots allow anyone to access a person's personal data in minutes and for a small fee (or sometimes for free), knowing only their phone number, email address, or full name. According to Roskomnadzor, Telegram has been blocking up to 100 such bots weekly since the beginning of 2026 at the agency's request. Since 2022, more than 8,300 such services have been removed.

But why are they still running? Because they simply multiply faster than they can be blocked. The scheme is simple: bot owners buy access to leaked databases (or steal them themselves), connect them to a bot, and sell access to search engines. Among such services is LeakCheck's MailSearchBot, which was originally created to check leaked passwords, but its data is actively used for blackmail and phishing. Fraudsters call victims, provide their personal information, and demand a ransom under threat of leaking the information. And it works.

Danger for users: Using Telegram bots to check your own data can be extremely dangerous. You don't know who the bot's owner is, how it processes your data, and whether it might store it. Under the guise of providing information, the user may be sent a malicious link. Clicking on it can infect the device with a virus, spyware, or lead to loss of account access. Moreover, some bots are stealers themselves and steal your session data. Using Telegram bots for this purpose is playing with fire, risking not only your data but also the security of your device. Therefore, avoid using dubious Telegram bots and, especially, do not enter your personal information into them.

Part 4: How to Check for Leaks Yourself​

There are several ways to check if your data has been leaked. The easiest and safest is to start with free services and gradually expand your search.

• Step 1: Free initial check with Have I Been Pwned.
  Go to haveibeenpwned.com and enter your email address or phone number. The service will show you which public leaks this data was found in. This is your starting point.
• Step 2: Deeper search via Mozilla Monitor.
  Mozilla Monitor uses the same HIBP database but offers a more user-friendly interface and recommendations for further action. It can also track new breaches and send alerts.
• Step 3: Paid professional verification via DeHashed.
  If you've found your data in HIBP and want to learn more (for example, which passwords were compromised or whether your phone number was leaked), it's worth investing in a DeHashed subscription. This will give you a much more complete picture.

Many mobile operators and digital service providers also offer built-in leak detection tools.

Part 5. High-profile leaks of 2025-2026: what we lost​

The scale of data breaches in 2025-2026 is staggering. Here are just a few examples of what has been compromised over the past year and a half:

• Zaimer MFO (2024-2026): In March 2026, a large-scale data breach of Zaimer MFO clients occurred. Information on approximately two million current and potential clients became publicly available. The company was compromised back in 2024, and the data is still being actively sold on the darknet. The company was fined over 1.8 million tenge for the breach, but the data continues to circulate online.
• Robo.finance (2026): Data of more than 36 million clients of microfinance organizations operating on the Robo.finance platform was leaked online.
• OnlyFans (2026): A hacker has put a database allegedly containing information on 340 million OnlyFans users up for sale on the dark web. The leak's validity has not yet been confirmed, but the very fact that it's being sold is alarming.
• WhatsApp (2026): Phone numbers of 20.65 million active WhatsApp users in Indonesia leaked online.
• XSS and other forum hacking (2025): In July 2025, the administrator of a major carding forum was arrested. His arrest could lead to infrastructure takeover and large-scale user data leaks.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Each such leak is a source of data for the darknet and Telegram bots, which will be used to attack ordinary people for years to come. The economy around selling outdated leaked data continues to develop.

Part 6. Protection and Prevention: Cleaning Up the "Tails"​

To minimize risks, you need to follow a few simple but extremely important rules:

• Use unique passwords for each service. This is a fundamental rule of digital hygiene. If the password for one service is leaked, your other accounts will remain secure.
• Use a password manager. A password manager (such as Bitwarden, 1Password, or KeePass) will help you generate and store complex, unique passwords. You'll only need to remember one master password.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. It's best to use hardware keys (YubiKey) or TOTP apps (Google Authenticator, Aegis, 2FAS). SMS authentication is currently not a secure method, as the SIM card can be reissued.
• Leak monitoring. Use services like HIBP to track whether your data has been affected by new breaches. Subscribe to notifications to be notified immediately.
• Clean up your digital footprint. Delete old accounts you no longer use. Submit requests to search engine support to remove outdated data about you, and delete old emails containing passwords and logins. Periodically review the list of devices connected to your accounts and disable suspicious sessions.

Part 7: What to do if you find your data leaked​

Finding your data in a leak is unpleasant, but not fatal. The key is to act quickly and correctly.

1. Don't panic. This didn't happen to you personally, but to the service you trusted with your data. Your task is to minimize the consequences.
2. Change your passwords immediately. First, change the password for the email address that was compromised, and then for all services where you used the same password.
3. Check your financial transactions. Review your card payment and transfer history for unauthorized transactions.
4. Enable 2FA. If you haven't already, now's the time. Two-factor authentication is your primary defense.
5. Be vigilant. In the coming weeks and months, be especially wary of suspicious calls, messages, and emails. Scammers will use your information to gain your trust.
6. Set up monitoring. Subscribe to leak monitoring services to learn about similar incidents sooner.

Part 8. An Important Conclusion​

In 2026, your data is no longer personal. It's a commodity. You may be anyone — a carder, a crypto wallet owner, or just an ordinary person — but your passport information, phone numbers, and passwords have long been lurking on the dark web. HIBP, DeHashed, and Telegram bots are just tools that show the real picture.

A quick one-line reminder:
"Your data is already online. HIBP will show you exactly where. DeHashed will tell you more. A Telegram bot will use it against you. The only way to survive is to change your passwords, enable 2FA, and stop being naive".