[News](/news) Social Engineering Attack Hits Robinhood, PII of Millions Breached  [Blog](/blog)[Breaches](/breaches)[Resources](/resources)[News](/news) # Social Engineering Attack Hits Robinhood, PII of Millions Breached  ##### [Catherine Chipeta](/team/catherine-chipeta) November 15, 2021 US trading platform Robinhood is at the center of [a data breach](https://www.upguard.com/blog/data-breach) affecting up to 7 million of the popular investing app’s users after falling victim to a [social engineering attack](https://www.upguard.com/blog/social-engineering) on 3rd November 2021. ## The Timeline * **November 3rd, 2021:** An unauthorized [third-party](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-third-party-risk) undertook a social engineering attack via telephone communication with Robinhood customer support, gaining access to some customer support systems. * **November 8th, 2021:** [Robinhood releases a statement ](https://blog.robinhood.com/news/2021/11/8/data-security-incident)to confirm and detail the occurrence of a ‘[data security](https://www.upguard.com/blog/data-security) incident’ and the remediation steps being taken as per the company’s [incident response plan](https://www.upguard.com/blog/incident-response-plan). ## The Damage The threat actor is reported to have compromised varying amounts and types of [sensitive data ](https://www.upguard.com/blog/sensitive-data)during the security incident, including: * The email addresses of approximately five million people * Full names of approximately two million separate people * Additional [personally identifiable information (PII)](https://www.upguard.com/blog/personally-identifiable-information-pii) of approximately 310 customers - name, date of birth, zipcode * Further PII of approximately ten customers Other sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and debit card numbers are not believed to have been exposed. Customers have not experienced any financial losses to date due to the security incident.  ## The Outcome The attack’s motives appear to be financial, as the threat actor is reported to have demanded extortion payment following Robinhood’s containment of the breach. Robinhood took the following actions following the attack: * Contacting law enforcement * Engaging an external security firm * Alerting those affected by the malicious disclosure The [growing number of social engineering attacks](https://cisomag.eccouncil.org/5-social-engineering-trends-to-watch-for-2021/) highlights the [importance of cybersecurity](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-important) awareness training programs for staff, as mitigating human errors proves an effective [attack surface management technique](https://www.upguard.com/blog/attack-surface-management). ## How secure is Robinhood? Robinhood operates a mobile-first brokerage platform that enables users to trade stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, and cryptocurrencies. The company offers commission-free trading services and provides additional features through its subscription service, Robinhood Gold. * View our free preliminary report on Robinhood’s security posture * 13 risk factors, including email security, SSL, DNS health, open ports and common vulnerabilities [View Robinhood's score](/security-report/robinhood) [View score](/security-report/robinhood) [https://robinhood.com](/security-report/robinhood) ### Sign up for our newsletter UpGuard's monthly newsletter cuts through the noise and brings you what matters most: our breaking research, in-depth analysis of emerging threats, and actionable strategic insights. ## Latest news Stay up-to-date with the latest news in cybersecurity. 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