DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

AU: Over 30,000 Optus customers’ debt data exposed on job freelancer site

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Dissent

Josh Taylor reports:

The personal data of 31,150 mostly former Optus customers was posted on short-term job website Freelancer.com in major breach of their privacy, Crikey can reveal.

Earlier this week, Crikey reported that an employee of the telecommunications company’s debt collector ARC Mercantile had posted a spreadsheet of data of customers who owed a debt to Optus onto Freelancer.com, a job auctions website.

You can read more on Crikey if you have a subscription. The notification letter, reproduced in the article, indicates that the exposed information included names, postal and email addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, and collections history details.

Optus went to court to obtain a court order to compel ARC Mercantile to provide the identity information of anyone who might have downloaded the spreadsheet. ARC Mercantile turned over information on 51 potential freelance contractors who may have downloaded it.

Category: Business SectorExposureNon-U.S.Subcontractor

Post navigation

← Federal Judge Denies Request to Dismiss Hacking Charges
Skimmers Found at Some Calif., Colo. Safeways →

1 thought on “AU: Over 30,000 Optus customers’ debt data exposed on job freelancer site”

  1. Bianca says:
    December 28, 2015 at 3:01 am

    I am one of the victims whose identity has been stolen.. Optus offered a 12 month watch on my credit history etc… What a bunch of fucking wankers! I’m in this situation because of them ?????

Comments are closed.

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Mysterious leaker GangExposed outs Conti kingpins in massive ransomware data dump
  • Resource: HoganLovells Asia-Pacific Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Guide 2025
  • Class action settlement following ransomware attack will cost Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center about $52 million
  • Comstar LLC agrees to corrective action plan and fine to settle HHS OCR charges
  • Australian ransomware victims now must tell the government if they pay up
  • U.S. Sanctions Cloud Provider ‘Funnull’ as Top Source of ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams
  • Victoria’s Secret takes down website after security incident
  • U.S. Government Employee Arrested for Attempting to Provide Classified Information to Foreign Government
  • St. Cloud Provides Update on Ransomware Attack in 2024
  • Bradford Health Systems detected abnormal network activity in December 2023. They first sent out breach notices this week.

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Resource: HoganLovells Asia-Pacific Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Guide 2025
  • She Got an Abortion. So A Texas Cop Used 83,000 Cameras to Track Her Down.
  • Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment
  • Watch out for activist judges trying to deprive us of our rights to safe reproductive healthcare
  • Nebraska Bans Minor Social Media Accounts Without Parental Consent
  • Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans
  • The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.