Was Your Data Exposed in the Canadian Tire Breach? Here’s What To Do Next

Early this month, the Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) confirmed a data breach that exposed customer information from one of its e-commerce databases. While the incident has faded from the headlines, it still serves as a powerful reminder that personal data, even if limited in details, can fuel identity theft and scams long after the breach has been contained.

If you shopped online at Canadian Tire, SportChek, Mark’s/L’Équipeur, or Party City, here’s what you should know — and how to stay protected.

Here’s What Happened

On Oct. 2, 2025, Canadian Tire Corporation identified unauthorized activity in a database tied to its e-commerce operations. The company acted quickly to secure the system and confirmed that:

• No Canadian Tire Bank or Triangle Rewards data was affected.
• The breach was limited to basic details of about 150,000 people, including names, address, emails, and year of birth.
• Some records contained encrypted passwords and incomplete credit card numbers – similar to what appears on a store receipt.

CTC says the vulnerability was resolved promptly and that it will continue to strengthen defenses.

Why You Should Care — Even if the Data Seems Basic

While no full credit card or bank data was stolen, the exposed information can still be valuable to cybercriminals. Exposed names and email addresses can fuel targeted phishing schemes and phony refund scams. The data can also be combined with additional information from separate data breaches to impersonate individuals or conduct credential stuffing attacks.

In other words, even a “minor” data breach like this can lead to significant consequences over time.

How to Know if You Were Affected

CTC says it has identified the individual account holders whose records included more detailed personal information.

• Those customers are being contacted directly by TransUnion Canada by email – or by mail if no valid email address was on file.
• Importantly, not everyone will receive a notification. The company clarified:

“If you did not receive an email from TransUnion Canada, on behalf of CTC, or do not receive a notice in the mail, there is no action required specific to this incident,” the company’s data breach notice explains.

However, it’s still good practice to watch out for unusual activity. Even if you weren’t contacted, your personal data might still appear in other breaches or phishing databases over time.

To stay ahead of potential misuse, consider using Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection. It continuously scans the web — including dark web sources — to detect if your personal information, passwords, or email addresses have been exposed in data leaks, and alerts you in real time.

What You Can Do Right Now

Even if you weren’t directly impacted, you can reduce your exposure and strengthen your online security by following these steps:

1. Monitor your identity exposure.
   Use Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection to check whether your personal data has surfaced online after this or other breaches.
2. Update and strengthen your passwords.
   Create strong, unique passwords for each account using the Bitdefender Password Generator.
3. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).
   Add an extra layer of protection to your online accounts.
4. Watch for phishing attempts.
   Be wary of emails or texts referencing the Canadian Tire breach. Verify suspicious links with Bitdefender Link Checker before clicking or have a chat with Scamio, our AI-powered scam detector, for free.
5. Monitor your financial activity.
   Keep an eye on your bank statements and credit reports. If you spot suspicious charges, report them immediately.