Minnesota tragedy shows how data brokers sell your personal information

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Last month, tragic events in Minnesota stand as an important reminder to all Americans to reflect and take action. Gun holder who targeted MPs Before carrying out his deadly attacks, people used people to hunt their victims’ house address. The police found a handwritten notebook in his vehicle, which contained a list of 11 data broker sites, as well as about notes that were free and displayed personal data.

Site included Truepeoplesearch, spokeo, pipl, people, beverified, whitepages, truthfinder, intelligence, ownerly, usserach, and people. These similar sites also have your knowledge, and they sell it to anyone with a credit card.

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Your health data is being sold without your consent

A woman is looking at her smartphone and typing on her laptop (Kurt “Cybergui” Notson)

Which major data broker websites are tracking you?

The $ 200 billion data broker industry consists of more than 4,000 companies worldwide. Here are some major players:

Experience, Equifax and Transunion (yes, these are Credit Bureau which are also broker data).
Acxiom, Epsilon, and corelogic (mass data aggregator).
Spoco, done, and Satya (people search site).
Whitepage, Peepalfinder, and Intelius (online directory).

Personal information about you what data brokers gather

These companies manufacture detailed profiles including your name, address, phone number, email, age, marital status, children’s information, education, job, income, political inclination, health details, location data and purchasing habits. They collect this data from public records, social media, shopping habits and location of your smartphone.

A woman types on her laptop (Kurt “Cybergui” Notson)

Real threats of data brokers: privacy, scam and identity theft

Data brokers do more than invading your privacy. They pose serious real -world risks that affect your finance, security and overall quality of life.

Financial fraud: Scammers buy detailed financial profiles especially to target superiors and financial difficulties to target people.

Physical safety threats: They sell your home address and phone number, avoid domestic violence and give importance to anyone at serious risk.

Medicare and Healthcare Scam: Scammers use your personal details to target you with fake medicare offers, fake health insurance schemes and medical identity theft schemes that can spend thousands.

Social discrimination: Companies use your data to determine your debt rates and insurance costs, without telling you how justice is being done to you.

Spam Calls and Robocols: Telemarketers and scammers buy their phone numbers and paste you with unwanted calls about everything from fake warranty to finger charity requests.

DIY Challenge: Data Brokers Exit

You can remove your information from data brokers, but they make it an objective incredibly difficult. Thousands of data broker sites exist, and trying to remove your data is like trying to empty the sea with a spoon. Even after removing your information, it often returns again.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

How to remove people manually from search sites

If you are firm to control your data, then the step-by-step process usually looks.

1. Search: Find out which companies have your data by searching themselves on the discovery sites of prominent people and checking what comes. However, many databases are private and are hidden from the scene, so you cannot always tell whose information is your information.

2. Travel: Go to each website individually.

3. Find out: Hunt for their opt-out procedures, which are usually buried in fine prints.

4. Submit: Fill and send requests to remove. Note that some sites may require phone calls or additional forms.

5. Follow up: Chase companies that ignore your requests, which is unfortunately common.

6. Monitor: Keep checking regularly to see if your information is revealed again.

Privacy experts say that it takes 10 to 15 hours to handle major data brokers alone, as well as ongoing monitoring.

A woman is looking at her personal data on her laptop (Kurt “Cybergui” Notson)

Smart Solutions: Allow it to take care of a personal data removal

If you have tried it yourself and have found the process heavy, then there is a clever approach. Professional data removal services can handle it for you:

To find out which companies have your knowledge.
Sending opt-out requests on your behalf.
When companies do not respond, then after this.
When your data returns, continuous monitoring.
Sending you regular updates on their progress.

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While no service can guarantee the removal of your data from the Internet completely, a data removal service is actually a smart option. They are not cheap – nor is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically monitoring your personal information from hundreds of websites. This is what gives me peace of mind and has proved to be the most effective way to eradicate your personal data from the Internet. By limiting the available information, you reduce the risk of cross-referring data from breech to scams cross-referenceing data, which they can find on the dark web, making it difficult for them to target them.

See my top pics for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already on the web Cyberguy.com/delete.

Get a free scan to know if your personal information is already on the web: Cyberguy.com/freescan.

Kurt’s major takeaways

This is a scary truth: data brokers have collected thousands of data points on almost all with online appearance. It can be heavy to try to manage all that on its own, and for most people, it is simply not practical. Your personal information is already out, bought and sold every day. If you are retired or living on a certain income, you can be an even bigger goal. This is not just about protecting your privacy. This is about your identity, your safety and protection of peace of mind.

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Should the government do more to stop data brokers from selling their personal information? Write us and tell us Cyberguy.com/Contact.

Kurt “Cybergooi” Knatson is a prize -winning technique journalist who has a deep love for technology, gear and gadgets, which improves life with his contribution to Fox News and Fox Business that makes the morning start on “Fox and Friends”. Got a technical question? Get Kurt’s free cybergui newsletter, share your voice, consider a story or comment Cyberguy.com.