Intake of Crime Stoppers tips in Toronto, surrounding areas paused after data breach
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TORONTO – Toronto Crime Stoppers has temporarily stopped accepting tips after it said more than 175,000 of them were stolen by hackers earlier this year, alongside nearly 15,000 names.
The pause comes after CBC reported that 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years were exposed in a massive data breach.
At least two other police forces in the Greater Toronto Area said they are also suspending their partnership with Crime Stoppers because of the hack.
Toronto Crime Stoppers, which allows people to submit confidential crime tips to law enforcement, said in a statement that the tip software it has used since 2018 was hit by a data breach in March.
It said the company that owns the software reported that 176,859 Toronto tips submitted between January 2022 and last November were included in the stolen data, as well as 14,973 names.
The company, Navigate360, has not disclosed whether the names are of people who submitted tips, who are named in them, or both, nor has it provided the text of the stolen tips, despite repeated requests, Toronto Crime Stoppers said.
Regional police in Halton, west of Toronto, said Thursday they are suspending their use of Crime Stoppers after learning some data related to Halton was included in the breach, although they are still awaiting more information.
North of Toronto, York regional police also said they are suspending their work with Crime Stoppers as the force reviews data included in the breach.
Toronto Crime Stoppers said it didn’t stop accepting tips sooner because Navigate360 initially said in April that Toronto data had not been taken, and when the company later said Toronto data was affected, it did not say what information was exposed.
It said it is working on a “safer way” to take tips and will share details in the coming days.
Toronto police said they are aware of new information regarding the breach, which they say “raises serious concerns regarding the protection of confidential information provided through the Crime Stoppers program.”
The force said it has suspended its use of the program while it reviews the new information and assesses the additional measures being put in place at the organization.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.