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2.2 Million E-Mail Addresses and VINs Stolen From Honda

by Terrence O'Brien on December 29, 2010 at 03:10 PM

Honda LogoHonda has begun to reach out to the 2.2 million customers who have had their names, e-mail addresses and vehicle identification numbers (VINs) poached by hackers that infiltrated the car company's database. Honda's luxury brand Acura also had its systems hacked, but only e-mail addresses were stolen. The cause for concern here is obvious. With names, e-mails and VINs in hand, it would be easy for crooks to craft targeted, scam e-mails that lull a victim into a sense of security by reassuringly repeating the customer's VIN. Honda said the information was stolen from a third party that it hired to send out e-mails to new customers, but it isn't attempting to avoid responsibility for cleaning up the mess. The company has contacted those who have been affected, and has posted a FAQ on its site, detailing how to protect your account and avoid being taken in by scammers.

Still, with the almost five million e-mail addresses harvested from Honda and Acura combined, spammers will have a massive new e-mail list to work with at the very least.

Tags: acura, email, hack, honda, scam, security, spam, top, transportation, vin

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