Trump Mobile's Gold Phone Leaks Data on 27,000 Would-Be Buyers

Trump Mobile's Gold Phone Leaks Data on 27,000 Would-Be Buyers

Trump Mobile, the cellular company launched by the former president's family, is investigating a security breach that exposed personal information for roughly 27,000 people who attempted to pre-order the company's signature gold smartphone.

The incident exposed names, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and order identification numbers. The company stated that credit card data, banking information, Social Security numbers, call records, and text messages were not compromised.

In a statement, Trump Mobile said it was working with independent cybersecurity professionals on the investigation. The company added that there was "no evidence" its systems, infrastructure, or network were directly compromised, though the probe remains ongoing.

The breach appears to stem from a vulnerability in the website's e-commerce architecture. An Australian programmer working in IT discovered the flaw and reported it to the company. Jonathan Soma, a programmer and Columbia University professor, reviewed the exposed code and found that the website assigned a sequential number to every potential order, with the tally reaching 27,224.

Soma noted a critical detail: the exposed data included abandoned shopping carts from people who never completed a purchase or submitted payment. "I probably started three phone purchases and didn't buy any of them," Soma said. This suggests the actual number of completed pre-orders is substantially lower than the total figure.

The discovery comes as Trump Mobile begins shipping its T1 phones after a roughly 10-month delay. When launching the product last June, Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. promised the devices would be "proudly designed and built in the US."

That commitment shifted. Chief Executive Pat O'Brien told USA Today last week that the first T1 phones were assembled in the United States and future units would use components "primarily manufactured" domestically, dodging the original promise of full American production.

O'Brien declined to disclose exact pre-order numbers but said Trump Mobile was "incredibly pleased" with customer interest. The company has now activated additional safeguards and monitoring systems following the breach discovery.

Trump Mobile is reviewing its legal notification obligations under data protection rules. The company advised customers to watch for suspicious emails, calls, or texts tied to their orders and warned that it would never request sensitive information through unsolicited messages.

Author James Rodriguez: "A security lapse affecting tens of thousands of customers is serious, but the real question is how many people actually paid for these phones and how Trump Mobile plans to prevent this from happening again."

Comments