You know, I get pretty anxious thinking about that. We work hard all our lives, save for retirement. Then one day, you learn that a company you’ve never heard of is selling your personal information to anyone who wants to buy it. It’s not just alarming. It can actually jeopardize your financial security.
These companies are data brokers that collect and sell people’s personal information, often without our knowledge. And please understand this. Some of them could be transactional 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’d like to talk about how these data brokers work and what steps you can take to keep your retirement plan safe.
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Couple planning for retirement (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)
How data brokers are putting your retirement security at risk
There’s one main way data brokers can jeopardize your retirement security, and that’s exactly what the name suggests: data brokers buy, sell, trade, and otherwise widely disseminate your personal information. This puts your retirement security at risk in three different ways, each more dangerous than the former.
1. Spray and Pray Campaign
They don’t know anything about you, but they have a way to contact you. Even if a scammer only has your phone number or email address, that’s enough for them to contact you. If they don’t know who you are or anything about you, they need to take the most “one-size-fits-all” approach they can manage. Their goal is to get you to reply or click a link that takes you to a malicious website. Once they know more about you, they can better tailor their next actions.
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2. Point the fire hose in your direction
They know what you are like, but they don’t know who you are. Fraudsters can purchase ready-made packages of personal information from data brokers. For example, one such set might include only the phone numbers of people 60 years of age or older, while another set might include the addresses of older adults who require live-in care and have cognitive decline. There are cases. The potential for abuse is clear. Even if they don’t know your name, they can launch dangerously effective scams against you.
3. Water gun in your ear
In other words, something is aimed at you and is very difficult to ignore. Scammers can also purchase shockingly detailed information about you, from your name to your health care and financial information. These scams are the most dangerous, as the attackers know you well and can get past many defenses.
All of the above types of scams can eventually lead to the ultimate scam. identity theft – but these three are more likely to get you there in fewer steps than the others.
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Woman working on retirement planning (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)
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What you can do to protect your peace of mind after retirement
Many of these risks can be mitigated or avoided by preventing data brokers from becoming easy targets for fraudsters and by enabling you to counter the most common and effective tactics they use.
1. Invest in a personal data deletion service. Prevent data brokers from sharing your information with a trusted personal information deletion service. No service promises to remove all data from the Internet, but if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing information from hundreds of sites over an extended period of time, a removal service is a good option. is the best. Check out the data deletion services I recommend here.
2. Don’t click on links. No matter how much pressure or stress a message or phone call puts you, follow the golden rule of never following or clicking on links. Always access the source of communications through official channels from your secure device and see what’s happening. The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that can install malware and access your personal information is to install antivirus software on all your devices. This protection also warns you about phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best antivirus protection products of 2025 for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
3. Do not divulge confidential information. If a message or email can put enough pressure on you to do something you shouldn’t (like following a link to a phishing site), imagine what happens on the phone. Requests for personal information raise red flags. If something doesn’t seem right, hang up.
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4. Verify your identity before handing over money or information. Always verify who you are doing business with before providing personal information (name, address, date of birth, social security number, financial information, etc.) or money. If someone asks for this information or claims they need to transfer money, follow the rule of “hang up, look up and call back.” This applies to phone calls, texts, and emails. Hang up or put the message aside, find the legitimate contact information for the organization in question, and contact them through official channels (not social media) to confirm your request.
Man working on retirement plan while counting cash (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)
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Cart important points
It’s crazy to think about how much of our personal information exists in the digital world and is floating around all over the place. But the important thing is that we are not helpless in this situation. Yes, it can feel overwhelming, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your hard-earned retirement savings. It’s all about being aware, staying alert, and using the tools at your disposal. Remember, protecting your financial security is worth fighting for. So don’t just sit back and hope for the best. Let’s take action and show data brokers that we are not easy targets. After all, we’ve worked too hard for too long to let anyone ruin our golden years, right?
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Do you think there should be regulations restricting the activities of data brokers? And what specific steps would you like to see taken to better protect personal information? Email us at Please let me know. Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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