How to check if your email was stolen in mass French data leaks

Two of the largest data leaks France has ever known both happened in 2024: the French health insurance data leak in February and the Free mobile data leak in September. Here is to check if your email addresses have been compromised.

The health insurance data leak saw hackers steal 33 million social security numbers from two companies (Viamedis and Almerys) that manage payments for medical costs. Victims of the hack were contacted directly by their insurance top-up mutuelles.

The second hack concerned 20 million people with Free mobile accounts, with around 5 million having their bank details stolen. 

Other hacks in 2024 included the Caisse d'allocations familiales (Caf), Boulanger, Cultura and SFR.

The total number of email addresses compromised by the hacks runs into tens of millions.

Read more: France is worst country in Europe for bank card fraud: how to protect yourself

How to check if your email address is safe

While not all leaks are fully accounted for, you can check if your email address was ever included in a major leak on the (English language) website haveibeenpwned.com.

The website’s search tool allows you to enter your email address and cross-references it with a database of known leaks.

If your email address appears in a data leak you are advised to change your password along with those of any other related services, particularly if any use the same password.