Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has firmly denied claims that it had been hacked and that customer records containing sensitive information, such as full names, addresses, Twitter handles, and mobile numbers, were stolen and subsequently sold.

The allegations were made by cybersecurity watchdog FalconFeeds.io, which reported that over 852,000 customer records had been leaked. The group posted on X:

Data Breach Alert: Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

A threat actor claims to be selling the database of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (http://econet.co.zw). The leaked data includes 852,791 customer records containing full names, emails, addresses, Twitter , mobile numbers, and more.

According to TechZim, the alleged threat actor, identified as Thaihub, is said to have listed the stolen database for sale with a small charge of $299.

In recent days, several Econet subscribers reported being contacted by suspicious people on WhatsApp, leading them to suspect that their contact details might have been sourced from Thaihub’s purported leak.

However, in a statement to TechZim, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe reassured customers that it had thoroughly investigated the claims and found no evidence of a breach. The statement reads:

Econet statement on alleged customer data breach

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is aware of a social media post first made on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (February 4, 2025) claiming that a threat actor was selling part of the Econet’s subscriber list containing 852 791 customer records.

Our internal investigations, which started immediately on the day the allegations were made, have detected no breach on our systems that would lead to unauthorised access to sensitive customer data, that is not already in the public domain or accessible through third parties.

However, because we take claims of any breach of our systems very seriously, the moment the allegations were first reported, we activated our incident management processes, working alongside international cybersecurity experts, and have been monitoring our systems 24/7 to ensure heightened security of our business systems and the privacy of our customers’ sensitive data.

We have also kept our regulators and relevant authorities informed.