Tag: data brokers

Your name, address and secrets are being sold for pennies

Data brokers turn your private life into a product. Here’s what they know, who’s buying and how to yank yourself off the shelf.

The airlines sold you out

Let’s talk about something no one thinks about when booking a flight: where your travel info really goes. An investigative bombshell from 404 Media just uncovered that the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a company owned by the biggest U.S. airlines, has been giving federal agencies access to passenger records.  No, I’m not talking about flagged […]

They buried your opt-out button

This is insane. Like almost cartoon-villain-level shady. Say you’re trying to delete your personal information from some shady data broker’s website that’s selling your data to advertisers, marketing companies, stalkers, coworkers or anyone else with the money.  But when you search for their opt-out page on Google? Nothing pops up on the results page. Did […]

Privacy report card: Which AI flunked

AI bots are our digital sidekicks. They’ve helped me write emails faster, plan my vacations, you name it. But the more we share, the more these bots learn about us. That can come back to bite you. Let’s lock down your data before your secrets become someone else’s payday. 🤖 Hall of shame Not all […]

5 steps to take control of your data

Every day, it feels like there’s another company saying, “Oops, we lost your info.” Feel helpless? Don’t. I’ve got some smart steps that help lock things down and keep creeps from using your info against you. Let’s jump in. 🔒 Change your username and passwords If hackers get one of your passwords, they’ll try it […]

Elder fraud is exploding: Your data is making it worse

I’ve got bad news: Today’s online scammers know everything about you. They’re scraping your info and everyone else’s from the web and buying the rest from data brokers and people-search sites.  📈 The stats are scary Folks age 60-plus are the biggest target. Almost 72% of scams start with personal data grabbed online. Data brokers […]

Take control of your data

Ever Googled yourself and thought, “What the heck is that doing online?” Old addresses, phone numbers and even the car you drive are all out there. Worse, it’s probably on some sketchy people search site or buried in a mountain of search results. I’ve been there too. After I went on a mission to wipe […]

What you need to know about DeepSeek

The U.S. is no longer ahead of China in terms of AI. I’ll break down their new model, DeepSeek, and how it compares to more popular chatbots.

Why I used Incogni to wipe my info off the internet

Data brokers and people-search sites eat up private data and sell it to anyone willing to pay. Here’s how to remove yours.

Shortcut to reading annoying privacy policies

Don’t skip those important online privacy policies. Here are clever ways to speed up the process.

How to remove personal data from data-broker sites (Spoiler: I use Incogni)

I’ll never forget when my son, Ian, asked me where in Los Angeles I lived. I told him I couldn’t remember — it was 30 years ago, and I lived there for maybe six months. A few minutes later, he called and had the address. It was available for free to anyone on the internet […]

Data brokers are selling your life. Here’s how to stop them.

You could spend the rest of your life trying to remove your personal data online, but I’ve found the best way to handle it FOR me.

How the government spies on you

Government agencies know more about you than you think. Here’s how to opt out of facial recognition and other government tracking.

Your data: It’s all posted online – But there’s a simple way to remove it

A loyal reader, Racquel, emailed me recently after dealing with a very angry customer at work.

Your data is worth big money — and you can take it back

Easiest way to scrub your personal data from the internet.

How to delete yourself from the internet

Deleting yourself from the internet? Technically, that’s near impossible. But there is something you can do.

Overwhelmed with spam texts? Do this now

Simple steps to stop those annoying spam text messages.

Take back control of your online privacy

A simple way to stop sites from collecting your data.

Simple digital privacy step everyone should know about

Quick and easy way to scrub personal information from the web.

Bad news: Here’s how much your social media logins cost on the Dark Web

What if I told you for just $12, someone could buy your Instagram login.