I'm a former Optus customer, have my details been leaked?

Data stolen in the recent Optus hack includes sensitive information of former Optus customers as far back as 2017. 

There are also anecdotal reports that suggest customers who left the telco over ten years ago have also been affected.

Optus customer information stolen includes official identification documents (passport numbers, driver’s licence numbers, and Medicare numbers), full names, dates of birth, postal addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses – sensitive information that has prompted fears over the potential for identity theft.

So, how do you check if your Optus data was breached?

Will Optus contact me if my data has been breached? 

If you’ve been an Optus customer at any point since 2017, check your inbox for emails from Optus. 

Optus is notifying the worst affected individuals that their data has been leaked, including which personal information was stolen. 

I haven’t received an Optus email, how else can I check if my data has been compromised? 

If you are yet to receive an email from Optus about the data breach, there are several things you can do to check if you have been affected by the cyber attack.

1. Contact Optus through the MyOptus app.

Customers who still have access to the MyOptus app are urged to contact the Optus customer support team through the service. However, with an estimated 10 million customers affected by the breach, wait times may be longer than usual.

2. Contact Optus via phone at 133 937. 

You can contact Optus via phone Mon – Fri from 9 am to 6 pm (AEST) or Sat from 9 am to 5 pm (AEST). Once again, wait times are likely to be long given the widespread impact the data breach has had on almost half of the Australian population. 

3. Check if your data has been leaked on data breach detection sites. 

One of the more popular data breach detection sites, Have I Been Pwned, has not loaded the leaked sample of Optus customer data onto their service yet.

However, regularly checking sites like Have I Been Pwned from time to time, e.g. Otto JS, Fraudlogix, APIVoid, and RegAlytics, could be a good way to stay ahead if the whole data set is eventually leaked, while also improving your own security. 

Personal data gets leaked all the time, so if you’ve had the same email address or phone number for years and years, you might have already had your data (including passwords) leaked in the past. 

That’s why it’s a good idea to set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts and change your password every now and again.

4. Monitor your accounts for suspicious activity. 

The last thing you can do is monitor your accounts for suspicious activity. Seen any odd transactions, emails, or text messages? 

This goes for any account to which you have linked your phone number or email address, and to an extent, any account to which you have given personal information like your driver's licence, Medicare card, or passport number.

Thinking of switching to a new telco from Optus?

Switching from Optus mobile: If you’re considering leaving Optus and finding a new mobile phone plan, you can compare mobile plans with Mozo.

Switching from Optus NBN: If you’re with Optus NBN, but are considering switching to a new internet service provider, then start by comparing NBN plans right here.