During National Consumer Protection Week, people are often reminded to be cautious of phishing emails, fake IRS calls, and identity theft. While these threats are very real, there is another, less obvious danger that many overlook—one that operates completely within the bounds of the law. This risk involves the widespread collection, packaging, and selling of personal information by hundreds of companies known as data brokers. Unlike traditional scams that lurk in the shadows, this data collection happens openly every day, often without people’s knowledge, and it fuels an entire industry built on profiting from your personal data.
Data brokers are entities that most people have never heard of, yet they know an astonishing amount about individuals. They gather information from a wide variety of sources including public records, apps, online activity, retail purchases, and more. By collecting data points from hundreds of places, these companies create detailed profiles on millions of people. These profiles can include highly personal details such as your home address, phone number, names and contacts of family members, income estimates, and even your daily habits.
One of the most unsettling aspects of this business is that these profiles are often made publicly accessible on people-search websites. Anyone can enter your name and instantly find your personal details, including where you live and how to contact you. These sites often present themselves as “background check tools” or “public records directories,” but their real business model relies on making personal information easy to find and sell. This accessibility makes it simple not only for advertisers and marketers to target you but also for scammers and criminals to find and exploit victims without needing to hack or break into your accounts.
Research by companies like Incogni has revealed that many popular apps—such as TikTok, Alibaba, Temu, and Shein—collect numerous personally identifiable data points. This information is then shared with third parties, including advertising networks and data brokers. Even browser extensions like AI-powered Grammarly or QuillBot request extensive permissions that allow them to track sensitive data about your online behavior. Over time, this data builds a behavioral profile that reveals what you click on, read, buy, and even your location patterns and routines.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has further increased the value and ease of collecting personal data. AI systems scrape public websites, social media profiles, images, and videos to extract identifying details. More importantly, AI can connect disparate pieces of information from multiple sources to create a single, comprehensive identity profile. This profile may include your location history, personal interests, employment background, relationships, and much more. Once collected, this data can circulate indefinitely on the internet, often beyond your control. Even if you delete a social media post, copies of that information may already exist in multiple places.
This extensive data collection has direct consequences for consumers. The more your personal information is accessible, the easier it becomes for scammers to launch highly convincing, personalized attacks. Unlike generic phishing emails that try to trick you with vague threats, these attacks use real details about you to gain your trust. For example, a scam email might say, “Hi, Mr. Smith, this is your bank. We noticed unusual activity on your account ending in 0123. Please confirm your information.” Because the message contains accurate, personal details, it feels legitimate, increasing the likelihood that you will respond and potentially fall victim to fraud.
Many people mistakenly believe that data collection is mainly about serving targeted advertisements. While ads are a significant use, the same data is also exploited to make scams more effective and harder to detect. Moreover, if you use AI-powered services like ChatGPT, Gemini, or LinkedIn, you should be aware that your interactions—including chatbot conversations, posts, voice recordings, and uploaded photos—are often collected and used to train these AI systems. Although some platforms offer opt-out settings, these options are frequently hidden in complicated menus or obscure labels, making it challenging for users to protect their privacy.
Given the scale and sophistication of data collection today, true consumer protection requires more than just avoiding suspicious links or phishing emails. It means actively limiting how easily your personal information can be found and accessed. One practical step is to use data removal services. These services help remove your personal data from data brokers and people-search websites that collect and sell your information. Rather than manually submitting dozens or hundreds of requests yourself, data removal companies automate the process and continuously monitor the web to remove your data as it reappears.
National Consumer Protection Week aims to empower individuals to protect themselves