The charity Toronto Crime Stoppers has temporarily stopped accepting new anonymous tips after a major data breach involving the P3 software in March this year. According to the organisation, attackers stole data on 176 859 tips submitted from January 2022 to November 2025, as well as 14 973 names contained in those tips. This is stated in a declaration by the chair of the Toronto Crime Stoppers board, Sean Sportun.
According to Sportun, Navigate360, the company that owns the P3 programme, reported a system breach in March. At first, the company insisted that the platform was secure and that data from Toronto had not been affected. Only in June did Navigate360 inform them that Toronto Crime Stoppers data had in fact been stolen, but without specifying exactly what information had fallen into the hands of the hackers. At the same time, the organisation itself still does not have access to the texts of the stolen tips.
In connection with the incident, Toronto Crime Stoppers announced that it was suspending the collection of new tips. The “Tip Submit” function has been removed from the organisation’s website, and Navigate360 has been instructed to stop accepting information for Toronto Crime Stoppers via its platform. The National anonymous call centre has also been told to stop receiving and processing any new data intended for this programme, including phone calls and online messages.
Sean Sportun appealed to Toronto residents, urging them not to use any Crime Stoppers channels to pass on information for the time being.
«Until we have a safer way to protect you, please do not send us tips by phone, online, or through the app» — Sean Sportun
The organisation has publicly apologised to people whose names may be among the stolen data. The statement stresses that since 1984 Toronto Crime Stoppers has promised complete anonymity to those who report crimes, but the current situation has shown that for some informants this promise has been broken.
Toronto Crime Stoppers explained that it does not usually require informants to provide their names, but some people voluntarily add personal details when describing what they have seen. Before passing information to investigators, the organisation usually deletes such details, but it has now emerged that some of the original tips containing potentially identifying data were stolen directly from P3.
For those worried that their tip may have fallen into the hands of attackers, Toronto Crime Stoppers has reiterated that the organisation never contacts people asking them to provide a tip number, password or similar details. If anyone demands such information, they are not representatives of Crime Stoppers. In cases of immediate danger, people are advised to call 911 straight away.
Toronto Crime Stoppers is currently working with law enforcement and technology partners to create a more secure mechanism for receiving anonymous tips. Until such a solution is in place, the organisation recommends that anyone with information about crimes or threats to public safety contact the Toronto police directly, acknowledging that this method is not anonymous.
In its own statement, Toronto Police confirmed that it is aware of the breach affecting the Crime Stoppers programme and has temporarily stopped using the anonymous tip line while checks are carried out. Officers noted that the information made public raises serious concerns about the protection of confidential data provided through the programme, and stressed that the safety of members of the public, informants and police officers is a priority.
During the review, the police will assess additional security measures to be implemented by Toronto Crime Stoppers. Members of the public have been urged to report any information about crimes or threats to public safety directly to the police, even if this temporarily deprives them of the anonymity that is a feature of the Crime Stoppers programme.
Toronto Crime Stoppers has also published a detailed timeline of events following the discovery of the breach. On 18–19 March, the organisation informed Toronto Police and other Crime Stoppers associations of suspected hacking of P3. At that time, Navigate360 stated that the breach had not been confirmed. In response, Toronto Crime Stoppers changed all passwords for access to the programme and introduced multi-factor authentication.
On 25 March, Navigate360 confirmed that hackers had gained access to P3 using stolen credentials from one of its clients, but insisted that the system remained “secure and fully operational”. From 7 to 10 April, Toronto Crime Stoppers temporarily stopped using P3 due to a login failure, and later resumed operations after receiving assurances about security. During this period, Navigate360 reported that some Canadian data had been stolen, but that data from Toronto had supposedly not been affected.
On 28 May, after confirmation of a breach of the Crime Stoppers programme in the United States, where around 91 gigabytes of data were stolen, Toronto Crime Stoppers again contacted Navigate360 to ask whether the incident had affected its information. On 9 June, the organisation was informed that its data had indeed been stolen and that the breach covered tips from January 2022 to November 2025. At the same time, Navigate360 did not specify which particular tips were involved or whether they contained potentially identifying data.
In June, Toronto Crime Stoppers began looking for alternative ways to receive information and brought in lawyers specialising in cyber incidents. On 6 July, Navigate360 provided the identification numbers of the compromised tips and reported that 12 392 of them potentially contained personal data. On 17 August, Toronto Crime Stoppers held a meeting with law enforcement and technology partners to plan a more secure system for receiving tips.
In September–October, Navigate360 reported that it could provide a list of 14 973 names that appear in the stolen tips. The organisation received this list, but without clarification as to whom these names belong — informants, suspects or other individuals. Due to the lack of detail, Toronto Crime Stoppers says it is currently unable to fully assess the level of risk to specific people.