Neopets User Data Is Being Held Hostage for Bitcoin
The thief stole their info—and wants to sell it for bitcoin.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Neopets
It might be time to check in on your Poogle.
Neopets, the hit website of the early aughts, was recently hacked, and the thief is reportedly selling off users' information in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin.
The website, where users can buy and raise virtual pets, confirmed this week that its customers’ data may have been stolen and urged users to change their passwords. It said it hired a “leading forensics firm” to conduct an investigation and was also working with law enforcement.
Neopets recently became aware that customer data may have been stolen. We immediately launched an investigation assisted by a leading forensics firm. We are also engaging law enforcement and enhancing the protections for our systems and our user data. (1/3)
— neopets (@Neopets) July 21, 2022
Meanwhile, a hacker called “TarTarX” was posting on hacker forums, offering up what he claimed were 69 million Neopets members’ email addresses and passwords, according to BleepingComputer.com. The asking price for the data trove: four bitcoin, or about $92,000.
BleepingComputer obtained a screenshot of the data that showed users’ names, email addresses, zip code, date of birth, gender, country, and other information. It noted that the owner of the forum where the hacker posted, Breached.co, claimed to have confirmed the authenticity of the data by signing up for a Neopets account and having the hacker find and send him the information he’d put in.
This isn't the first time Neopets suffered a security breach: A 2016 hack exposed tens of millions of users' information, according to Vice.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
A spokesperson for JumpStart, the company that owns Neopets, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.