Data Brokers Build Profiles on 30 Million Americans, Fueling Sensitive Predictions and Scam Risks
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 26
Data Brokers Build Profiles on 30 Million Americans, Fueling Sensitive Predictions and Scam Risks
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 26
Summary
Data brokers do more than store names and addresses: they combine browsing, location, purchase and public-record data to infer health, finances, religion, politics and life stage.
FTC-documented audience labels included categories such as “Christian church goers” and “wealthy and not healthy,” showing how companies turn signals into modeled attributes that may be wrong but still shape targeting.
30 million Americans were affected in a Justice Department case against Epsilon Data Management, which prosecutors said sold consumer data to fraudulent operators; Epsilon agreed to pay $150 million.
$7.7 billion was lost by Americans age 60 and older to internet crime in 2025, FBI data showed, underscoring how detailed personal data can make scams more convincing.
California launched its DROP deletion platform in January 2026, with brokers processing requests from August, while consumers elsewhere largely rely on state privacy laws, opt-outs and removal requests.