Vietnam police expose massive trade of 8.4 billion leaked email accounts worldwide

More than 8.4 billion email accounts belonging to users worldwide were bought, sold, and exchanged online after being exposed in previous cyberattacks, Vietnam police said.

Authorities in Tuyen Quang Province said on Feb. 3 that they had launched a criminal investigation into three men aged 24 to 26 from Hanoi, Thanh Hoa and Gia Lai, who are accused of illegally accessing and trading leaked email data.

Police said the group operated in an organized manner, working with foreign contacts through the messaging app Telegram to obtain databases containing email login credentials, including usernames and passwords that had been exposed in earlier hacking incidents.

After acquiring the data, the suspects allegedly used automated software to gain unauthorized access to email accounts, allowing them to collect and analyze personal information. The harvested data was then resold online for illicit profit, investigators said.

Initial findings indicate that between 2024 and 2025, the operation handled data linked to more than 8.4 billion email accounts globally, generating hundreds of millions of dong. Police said the investigation is ongoing and that additional suspects may be involved.

Following the case, authorities warned the public not to share sensitive information such as identification numbers, bank details, passwords, or one-time verification codes via email or social media. Users were also advised to avoid installing apps from unknown sources and to download software only from official platforms.

By Pham Du – VnExpress.net – February 3, 2026