How Does Credential Stuffing Work?

Credential stuffing is when someone uses your password to get into another account you have, like sneaking into a friend’s house using a key that works for yours.

Imagine you have a toy box with a lock, and the key is your password. If someone gets that same key, they can open your toy box too! That's what happens in credential stuffing: someone takes your password and tries it on other places where people use passwords, like another website or app.

Think of it like this: you give a friend your house key so they can borrow your bike. But then, that same friend uses the key to get into your toy box too! That’s credential stuffing in action. The thief already has your password, and now they're using it to break into other accounts, just like a friend breaking into your toy box.

Thieves often collect passwords from places where people are careless, like when you click on a suspicious link. Once they have that list of passwords, they can try them on many websites at once, it's like having a bunch of keys and trying each one until the right one unlocks another toy box!