200,000 Facebook Marketplace user records were leaked on the dark web

Personal data from 200,000 Facebook Marketplace users were leaked to a hacker forum. Leaked data reportedly includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, Facebook IDs, and Facebook profile information.

According to Bleeping Computer, the data was shared on a dark web forum by known leaker IntelBroker who says the data was hacked by someone who goes by "algoatson" on Discord. "In October 2023, a cyber criminal by the name of 'algoatson' on Discord, breached a contractor that manages cloud services for Facebook and stole its partial user database of 200,000 entries," said IntelBroker. The data was allegedly hacked by "algoatson" through a Meta contract worker.

SEE ALSO: Facebook users in the UK have more privacy protections than in the U.S. Here's why.

Bleeping Computer was able to verify that some of the information was legitimate by cross-checking with known email addresses and phone numbers linked to Facebook Marketplace.

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This isn't the first time personal information from Facebook users has been leaked. In 2021, the records of over 530 million Facebook users were leaked in an online forum. The data had been hacked in 2019, meaning personal information had been floating around the dark web for two years. As a result, Meta was fined 265 million Euros for violating the European Union's GDPR, which protects user privacy.

How to protect yourself from the Facebook Marketplace breach

If you're an avid Facebook Marketplace user like many of us, there are ways to lock up your account. Change your Facebook password and turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) which adds a second layer of verification by asking for your identity on a second device. Be especially vigilant about any suspicious emails or texts related since they may be phishing attempts using your Facebook data.