You know, it’s pretty disturbing when you think about it. We spend our whole lives working hard and saving for retirement. Then, one day, you find out that some company you’ve never heard of is selling your personal information to whoever wants to buy it. It’s not just alarming. It could actually jeopardize your financial security.
These companies are data brokers who collect and sell people’s personal data, often without our knowledge. And get this: some of it may be trading information that could affect your retirement savings.
Crazy, right? But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are things we can do to protect ourselves. I want to talk about how these data brokers work and what steps you can take keep your retirement plans safe.
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The couple is working on their retirement plan (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How data brokers are jeopardizing your retirement security
There’s one main way data brokers threaten your retirement security, and it’s in the name itself: data brokers buy, sell, trade, and otherwise spread your personal information far and wide. This threatens your retirement security in three different ways, each more dangerous than the last:
1. Spray ‘n’ pray campaigns
They don’t know anything about you, but they have a way to reach you. Even if the scammer only knows your phone number or email address, it’s enough to contact you. If they don’t know who you are or anything about you, they have to take the “one size fits all” approach that they can. Their goal is to get you to respond to them or click on a link that leads to a malicious website. Once they know more about you, they can better tailor their next moves.
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2. Fire hose pointed in your direction
They know what you are like, but not who you are. Fraudsters can buy ready-made packages of personal data from data brokers. A set like this might only include the phone numbers of people over 60, for example, while another might contain the addresses of elderly people who need care and have cognitive decline. The potential for abuse is clear. They don’t need to know your name to target you with a dangerously effective scam.
3. Water gun to the ear
In other words, something is aimed right at you and is very hard to ignore. Scammers can also purchase shockingly detailed information about you, from your full name to your health and financial information. These scams are the most dangerous, with attackers knowing enough about you to get past many of your defenses.
Any of the above types of scams can end up in what could be the ultimate scam – identity theft – but these three are more likely to get there, and in fewer steps, than the others.
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The woman is working on her pension plan (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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What you can do to protect your retirement security
You can reduce or avoid many of these risks by preventing data brokers from making it easy for fraudsters to target you and by arming yourself against the most common and effective tactics they use.
1. Invest in personal data removal services: A reliable de-personalization service can stop data brokers in their tracks from sharing your information. While no service promises to remove all of your data from the Internet, a removal service is great if you want to continuously monitor and automate the process of removing your data from hundreds of sites continuously over a long period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
2. Do not click on links: No matter how much pressure or stress a text or phone call puts you under, stick to the golden rule of never following or clicking on links. Always go to the source of the communication through official channels from a secure device to confirm what is happening. The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your personal information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
3. Do not provide sensitive information: If a text or email can put you under enough pressure to do something you shouldn’t (follow a link to a phishing website, for example), imagine what a phone call can do. Any request for personal information should trigger warnings. If something seems off, hang up.
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4. Check your identity before handing over money or data: Always verify who you are dealing with before giving out any personal information (name, address, date of birth, social security number, financial information, etc.) or money. If someone asks for this information or claims to send you money, follow this rule: “Hang up, look and call back.” This applies to phone calls, texts and emails. Hang up or leave a message on the side, find the organization’s legitimate contact details and reach out through official channels (not social media) to confirm the claim.
A man counting money and working on his retirement plan (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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You know, it’s crazy to think about how much of our personal information is out there, floating around in the digital world. But here’s the thing: we’re not powerless in this situation. Sure, it can seem overwhelming, but there are steps we can take to protect ourselves and our hard-earned retirement savings. It’s all about being aware, staying alert and using the tools at our disposal. Remember, your financial security is worth fighting for. So let’s not just sit back and hope for the best. Let’s do something and show those data brokers that we won’t be easy targets. After all, we’ve been working too hard for too long to let someone mess with our golden years, right?
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Do you think there should be regulations to limit the activities of data brokers and what specific measures would you like to implement to better protect your personal data? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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