Freecycle.org urges 7 million users to reset passwords after major data breach

Freecycle.org, the world’s largest online recycling and reuse network, has disclosed a data breach impacting more than 7 million users worldwide.

The nonprofit organization said it discovered the breach on Aug. 30, three months after a threat actor had listed the data for sale on a breach forum, on May 30, 2023.

Freecycle.org is now warning all affected individuals to immediately reset passwords for their Freecycle account, as well as any other platform where they might have used the same login credentials.

“On August 30th we became aware of a data breach on Freecycle.org,” the data breach notice reads. “As a result, we are advising all members to change your passwords as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

According to Freecycle’s official data breach notice, the attackers managed to steal usernames, user IDs, email addresses and passwords.

“No other personal information was compromised and the breach has been closed and is being reported to the respective privacy authorities,” Freecycle added. “We have notified the ICO in the UK and the appropriate US authorities.”

Freecycle emphasized that the password reset process via email can be delayed for up to one hour because their “email system is very busy at this time.”

Any users who have trouble changing their account password are advised to contact a Help Team volunteer via the Contact link or the green question mark found at the bottom of any Freecycle.org website page.

Additional information on how users can prompt a password reset can be found here.

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