Brinztech Alert: The Alleged Database of Clickindia is on Sale

Dark Web News Analysis

The dark web news reports a significant data breach involving Clickindia, a popular free classifieds portal in India. A threat actor on a hacker forum is selling a database allegedly containing 742,000 user records.

The compromised dataset includes critical Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as Names, Email Addresses, Mobile Numbers, and specific Account Activity. The inclusion of activity logs suggests the data may track what users were buying or selling, providing scammers with the context needed to launch highly credible attacks.

Key Cybersecurity Insights

Breaches of classifieds platforms in the Indian market are “Tier 1” consumer threats because they feed directly into the ecosystem of financial fraud:

• Marketplace & QR Code Fraud: [No image] The exposure of Account Activity (e.g., “User is selling a Sofa”) combined with Mobile Numbers is the perfect recipe for QR code scams. Attackers can call the seller, posing as an interested buyer, and trick them into scanning a QR code to “receive payment,” which actually drains their bank account via UPI.
• Contextual Phishing: With access to the user’s history, attackers can send targeted emails or WhatsApp messages: “Your ad for [Item Name] has been flagged. Click here to verify your account.” Because the message references a real item the user posted, the click-through rate is dangerously high.
• WhatsApp Spam & Scams: In India, mobile numbers are often linked to WhatsApp. A leak of 742,000 active numbers is likely to be sold to “bulk marketing” agencies or scam centers that flood users with job offers, loan scams, or lottery fraud.
• Credential Stuffing: Users of free classified sites often use weak or reused passwords. Attackers will likely test the email/password combinations against major e-commerce (Flipkart, Amazon) or digital wallet (Paytm) accounts.

Mitigation Strategies

To protect users and platform reputation, the following strategies are recommended:

• Session Termination: Clickindia should immediately invalidate all active sessions and force a password reset for the 742,000 affected accounts.
• Fraud Advisory: Place a prominent warning on the app and website advising sellers that Clickindia will never ask them to scan a QR code to receive money.
• Number Masking: If not already implemented, consider masking buyer/seller phone numbers on the platform to prevent future scraping of contact details.
• Bot Defense: Implement CAPTCHA or behavioral analysis on the login page to stop attackers from running automated credential stuffing attacks using the leaked data.

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