[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f3q6mi47famq19":3},{"success":4,"breach":5},true,{"_id":6,"name":7,"title":8,"slug":7,"domain":9,"breachDate":10,"addedDate":11,"modifiedDate":12,"contentUpdatedAt":13,"source":14,"sourceUrl":15,"sourceUrls":16,"pwnCount":17,"affectedCount":17,"affectedCountStatus":18,"affectedCountLowerBound":19,"affectedCountUnit":20,"hasEnglishDescription":4,"severity":21,"dataClasses":22,"description":29,"seoTitle":30,"seoTitleEn":31,"seoDescription":30,"seoDescriptionEn":32,"logoUrl":33,"isVerified":4,"isSensitive":34,"isSpamList":34,"isMalware":34,"company":35},"68e3266eda11adda488251f4","gamingmonk","GamingMonk Data Breach","gamingmonk.com","2020-12-02T00:00:00.000Z","2023-11-05T23:05:37.000Z","2026-07-02T12:26:55.059Z","2026-07-18T23:51:18.096Z","Third party breach","https:\u002F\u002Feconomictimes.indiatimes.com\u002Ftech\u002Fstartups\u002Fmobile-premier-league-acquires-esports-gaming-platform-gamingmonk\u002Farticleshow\u002F82049948.cms",[15],654510,"known",null,"unknown","High",[23,24,25,26,27,28],"Dates of birth","Email addresses","Names","Passwords","Phone numbers","Usernames","\u003Cp>The GamingMonk data breach is a verified incident from December 2020 affecting accounts using the India-based esports and gaming community platform. The verified scope is 654,510 unique email records. The affected data groups include dates of birth, email addresses, names, phone numbers, usernames, and bcrypt password hashes. It has been noted that the platform later came under the MPL Esports umbrella and the domain was redirected to this service; however, this record is limited to the GamingMonk period incident. The presence of fields such as phone numbers and birth dates along with passwords poses risks not only to game account security but also to targeted fraud and phishing. Physical addresses, payment cards, official ID numbers, private messages, or in-game purchase history are not among the verified data categories for this incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Leaked Data Types and Risks\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>In this breach, email addresses and usernames were exposed along with names, phone numbers, and dates of birth. This combination allows attackers to craft messages that appear personalized. Phone numbers can be used in SMS scams, fake support calls, and account verification fraud. Dates of birth increase the risk level since they are considered a security question or identity verification aid in some services.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Storing passwords in bcrypt hash format provides stronger protection compared to plain text passwords. Nevertheless, short, weak, or recycled passwords on other accounts remain risky. If the same password has been used on platforms involving email, gaming, social media, tournaments, or payments, attackers may transfer old data to current login attempts. Therefore, users who are positively matched should check both their password and the security settings of accounts linked to their phone number and date of birth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Verified Scope and Boundaries\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The verified number for this record should be kept as 654,510. This value represents the unique email coverage; each record may not necessarily correspond to a single real person. The same user may have multiple accounts, old email addresses may appear separately, or there may be duplicates in the data. Nevertheless, the presence of phone numbers, birth dates, and password hashes together makes it a high-impact gaming community breach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Verified data classes are birth dates, email addresses, names, passwords, phone numbers, and usernames. The password field should be specified as a bcrypt hash. Physical address, payment information, official identification data, private messages, device information, IP address, in-game inventory, or purchase history should not be added to the record because they are not among the verified fields. The platform continuing later under a different brand is not sufficient evidence to add new data classes to the scope of the incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>User Groups at Risk\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The highest risk is for users who reuse the password they use on their GamingMonk account across other services. On e-sports and tournament platforms, users often create accounts using their personal email and phone number. This information can be used in communications such as fake tournament invitations, reward notifications, account verification, or support messages. Since the phone number and date of birth are available, attackers can make their messages more personal and convincing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players who are active in India-based gaming communities, tournament participants, and those who use the same username on different platforms should also pay attention. If the same username is also used on social media, streaming platforms, or game stores, the risk of profile matching increases. Even if the account is no longer active, if the phone number and email address can still be used, the risk continues. Therefore, the user should not focus solely on their old platform account.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Urgent Measures to Be Taken\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The user with an email address in this record should make sure that the old password used on their GamingMonk account is not valid on any other account. If the same or a similar password has been used on other services, it should be immediately changed to a long, unique, and hard-to-guess password. Using a password manager reduces the risk of reuse. Although Bcrypt hashing is a stronger method of storage, it does not make password reuse safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Multi-factor authentication should be enabled on email accounts, game accounts, social media, services involving payments, and accounts linked to a phone number. Operator account and SIM change security should also be checked. When an unknown tournament invitation, reward notification, account verification message, or support call is received, the user should independently verify the address and sender before clicking the link. Suspicious SMS messages and calls should also be taken seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Long-Term Security Strategies\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The GamingMonk incident shows that fields collected on e-sports and gaming community accounts, such as phone numbers and birth dates, can pose long-term risks. Users should not repeat the same password and username patterns across tournament, game, and social media accounts. Unused accounts should be closed or isolated with a unique password. Security alerts should be kept active on accounts linked to a phone number, and recovery options should be reviewed at regular intervals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The key lesson for service providers is to focus not only on password security but also on reducing the collection of unnecessary personal data. Fields such as phone number and date of birth should not be retained if they are not truly necessary; if required, access controls, audit logging, and data retention periods must be strictly managed. Strong methods should be used for storing passwords, and incident reports should clearly indicate which fields were affected and which fields were not verified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Record Control and User Action\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>During record checking for a GamingMonk breach, the result indicates whether the entered email address is found in this verified dataset. If the result is positive, the email address, name, username, phone number, date of birth, and bcrypt password hash should be considered at risk. If the result is negative, it means that no match was found in this particular dataset; this does not prove that the person was not involved in other breaches. The result should only be interpreted in the context of the GamingMonk incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The correct user action is to completely abandon the old password, change all reused passwords, use multi-factor protection on email and gaming accounts, check accounts linked to phone numbers, and strengthen security options on services that use verification with date of birth. The user should not consider the risk negligible due to the incident being old or the platform having changed hands. Information such as phone numbers and dates of birth can be used in targeted fraud even years later.\u003C\u002Fp>","","GamingMonk Data Breach (654.5 Thousand Reported Records)","GamingMonk Data Breach. 654.5 Thousand reported records were reported. Reported data: Dates of birth, Email addresses, Names. Review the scope, risks, and…","\u002Fuploads\u002Flogo\u002Fgamingmonk_com.webp",false,{"name":36,"sector":37,"country":38,"website":9,"websiteArchiveUrl":30,"websiteStatus":30,"websiteCheckedAt":19},"GamingMonk","Esports Platform","India"]