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Technology
The dangerous intersection of people search sites and scams
It’s no secret cybercriminals thrive on personal information to pull off scams, commit bank fraud and engage in identity theft. But did you know that a lot of the information they need is readily available on people search sites? It might surprise you to learn that these companies gather and sell your personal data — everything from your contact details to information about your family — often without you even realizing it.
What’s more, this data can become even more vulnerable to breaches simply by being stored on these sites. For instance, I recently discussed an alarming incident where 2.7 billion records were stolen from a background search site called National Public Data and then shared for free on a cybercrime forum.
Having your personal information floating around on these people search sites and data broker databases significantly increases your risk of falling victim to scams. But don’t worry. I’ll dive into the details of how this happens and, more importantly, what you can do to protect yourself and stop it.
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Illustration of a cybercriminal at work (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Cybercriminals exploit people search sites for personal data
People search sites like Whitepages, Spokeo and BeenVerified are designed to help users find and connect with others, but they’ve become a goldmine for cybercriminals. Despite warnings against using the data for stalking, harassment or harm, these sites offer a wealth of information that can be exploited by malicious actors.
Scammers can access a wide range of personal details, including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, birthdates, family information, employment history and even religious beliefs or political affiliations. They can also find property records, court and police records and information about hobbies and interests.
This comprehensive data allows cybercriminals to build detailed profiles of potential victims, making it easier to craft convincing scams or carry out identity theft. The abundance of personal information available through these sites poses a significant risk to individuals’ privacy and security.
A woman is upset about her personal information being online. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
3 ways scammers use people search sites
Let’s talk about how scammers are using people search sites to find their next victims. It’s pretty alarming, but understanding how this works can help us stay one step ahead.
1. Finding victims
Cybercriminals can easily browse people search sites to dig up information about random individuals. They can look up names and uncover a treasure trove of details — like email addresses, phone numbers and other contact info. This is where things start to get a bit dicey.
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2. Profiling victims
Once they have access to this information, scammers can create detailed profiles of their targets. They might find out about someone’s job history, whether they have kids or even if they’re single and looking for love. They can also determine if someone is elderly, which can make them more susceptible to confusing tech jargon. Research indicates that a staggering 60% of cybercrimes against seniors — who are particularly vulnerable — are at least partly fueled by the personal information available online, often through data brokers and people search sites.
3. Putting the plan into action
With all this information in hand, scammers can launch targeted phishing attacks to trick victims into revealing sensitive information. They can create scams designed to steal money or even commit identity theft. There are countless stories of individuals falling prey to these scams and losing their identities.
In many cases, the scammers likely sourced their information from people search sites. In some shocking instances, certain data brokers — like Epsilon, Macromark and KBM — have been caught red-handed selling personal information directly to scammers, giving them the tools they need to exploit vulnerable individuals.
A person using a people search site on their laptop. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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4 ways to keep your personal information off people search sites (and away from scammers)
With the threat data aggregators like people search sites pose, it’s definitely a good idea to keep your information off their databases. While it won’t put a definitive stop to scammers, it will make it harder for them to find the information necessary to target you. It will also limit the number of places your data can be found online, thereby reducing the chances of it ending up in a data breach. That said, removing your information from people’s search sites can be easier said than done. It’s not impossible, though. Here’s what to do.
1. Track down and opt out from people search sites that sell your data
The first and most obvious step is to track down people search sites that sell your personal information and make them remove it. Fair warning: This requires a time commitment and ongoing maintenance.
You’ll first have to look up your own name, phone number, email address or home address on any popular search engine. You’ll likely see a bunch of people search sites in the search results. From there, you go through the results pages, visit each website that shows up and send individual opt-out requests to each one.
Since they refresh their databases often, most people search sites will add your personal information again after some time, though. So if you want to keep your data offline, you’ll have to check back every few months and remove it again.
If you have a few bucks to spare, I recommend using an automated personal information removal service. These services remove your data from people search sites and tons of other data broker types. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
2. Limit the number of online tools and services you use
You should also exercise some good digital hygiene practices. Like being more discerning about the online tools and services you use. Many of them actually harvest your personal information and sell it to third parties, including people search sites and data brokers.
Even something as seemingly benign and widely used as extensions can be leaking your data online. A study conducted by researchers over at Incogni revealed 44% of Chrome extensions collect your personally identifiable information (PII). Even if they don’t sell it, this increases the risk of data breaches and malicious activity if the extension goes rogue.
You should reevaluate the apps, extensions and online accounts you use. Remove anything you don’t really need. For those that you do need, check the privacy policies for their data collection and sharing practices. You can always find more privacy-conscious alternatives.
3. Use throwaway emails and burner numbers wherever possible
Living in the digital age, I know it’s not really possible to go without any online tools. To sign up for most, you need to share at least an email or phone number. Unfortunately, those details are often shared with third parties, end up with people search sites and data brokers, circulate the web and ultimately result in increased spam and malicious attacks.
It’s a lot safer to use burner numbers and masked or throwaway accounts. This allows you to sign up, receive communication and maintain control of your online accounts while keeping all of the associated data and activity from being linked to your real identity.
4. Use private browsers and search engines
Browsers and search engines are another big source of data. Most of them track and share at least some of your online activity. Thankfully, there are plenty of browsers and search engines designed with privacy in mind.
I’ve previously recommended a few privacy-conscious search engine alternatives. They come with their own benefits and drawbacks but they all keep your search history private. The same goes for the browser itself.
Kurt’s key takeaways
It’s clear that while people search sites can be useful for reconnecting with friends or finding information, they also pose significant risks to our privacy and security. By taking proactive steps to protect our personal data, we can make it much harder for cybercriminals to exploit our information.
In your opinion, what should be the responsibility of companies that collect and sell personal data regarding user privacy? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
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These days, it seems I cannot escape peptides. Online, I’ve been assaulted by videos of shirtless Chads injecting dubiously sourced bottles of the so-called “Wolverine stack.” On the New York City subway, I’m haunted by Serena Williams’ Ro ads for easy GLP-1 access. Silicon Valley seems to be a parade of peptide parties. In Washington, RFK Jr. has said he’s pro-peptide and wants to expand access. In July, the FDA will meet to possibly reclassify 14 peptides so they can be eligible for compounding.
And in Hollywood, Gwyneth Paltrow — mother Goop, one of the original wellness influencers — is selling a series of peptide skincare products. Except, after some research, I’m not sure Paltrow actually understands what peptides are.
You might be wondering why I’m fixating on a Goop product in Optimizer. The short answer: While researching peptides for a forthcoming feature, I’ve descended into madness.
The longer answer is that peptide mania is central to Silicon Valley’s current fixation with longevity and metabolic optimization. As I’ve recently written, wellness trends increasingly inform new health tech features and gadgets that make up the wearable surveillance state. Peptides are also being framed on social media as an innovation that democratizes healthcare. (A similar rhetoric used to describe wearables!) It’s part of the wellness Wild West feedback loop that’s fueling Silicon Valley’s obsession with self-optimization. With that in mind, it’s worth examining how “peptide washing” has crept into various corners of the internet — and the resulting ripple effects.
While peptide shots are a relatively new trend, we’ve known about peptides and how they work for decades. They’re short chains of amino acids, which, in turn, make up proteins. In other words, building blocks for the building blocks. Because a peptide can be a chain ranging from two to roughly 100 amino acids, there are potentially trillions of peptides. Their main function is to act as messengers for various bodily functions. Some are naturally occurring and often come from the foods you eat. Others are made synthetically in a lab. The most famous ones include insulin and GLP-1 medications like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound and Mounjaro).
What’s taking social media by storm are peptides that exist in legal gray areas. They’re not widely tested or FDA-approved drugs, and are sometimes sourced from dubious suppliers. I’ve previously written about retatrutide — another popular weight loss peptide — in Optimizer, but there’s a whole slew of others with names that sound vaguely like Star Wars droids. The most popular ones include BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, and CJC1295. These peptides are touted as biohacks for ailments ranging from fat loss and muscle growth, to faster wound healing, anti-aging, and increased energy. Essentially, everything associated with living a longer, healthier life. Lumped alongside these is NAD+, which is not a peptide but is often marketed as one. That’s partly because it’s frequently consumed as an IV drip and is thus an injectable substance.
But just because you can inject something, that doesn’t make it a peptide.
Do you have experience using peptides?
Or extremely strong feelings about this trend? I’m researching this phenomenon and I’d love to chat with you. Hit me up at victoria.song@theverge.com or on Signal at @ vicmsong.14.
NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It’s a coenzyme — basically an enzyme booster — that’s found in every cell. Its primary job is to help convert food into energy. It does this by shuttling electrons from one chemical reaction to another. As you age, your NAD levels naturally decline. This can lead to an array of conditions associated with aging, like Type 2 diabetes, lower energy levels, and saggy skin. Not to get too weedsy, but the + in NAD+ simply denotes one of two versions of the NAD molecule. (The other is NADH.)
Which, finally, brings me to the Goop Youth Boost NAD+ Peptide Rich Cream and whether Gwyneth Paltrow actually knows what a peptide is.
In my research, I was looking into influential people who have spoken out about peptide injections. There’s a long list, but in Hollywood, Paltrow’s name kept popping up. Cue this recent Elle interview, in which Paltrow plays a “fuck, marry, kill” game with wellness trends.
From the get-go, the Elle article incorrectly identifies NAD+ as a peptide. Paltrow is then quoted as saying she uses NAD+ IV drips and an injectable NAD+ pen for impromptu energy boosts. She goes on to say that injectable peptides dealing with inflammation and brain health that are “being formulated for longevity” will be the next NAD+. In the fuck, marry, kill game, Paltrow is asked to choose between NAD+, B12, and peptide shots. She refuses, saying she’d marry them all.
What’s worrisome is the conflation of these treatments, even though they’re three separate things. It’s easy for the average person to read this article and think, “NAD+ is a type of peptide shot and a rich, glamorous celebrity like Gwyneth Paltrow does it, so this must be their secret to looking good.”
(For the curious: B12 is a vitamin. Supplementation can boost energy if you have a B12 deficiency, which is relatively common in the elderly, vegetarian, and vegan populations. As for NAD+, there’s considerable research interest, but limited clinical evidence for drips or supplements at the moment. I wrote a whole Optimizer newsletter about dubious peptide shots.)
From this interview, I get the sense that Paltrow knows that peptides are trendy, but she doesn’t actually admit to using any specific one. After some more digging, I found she has stated that she loves glutathione IV drips. Now, that is a peptide. However, she characterized her usage as “I love IV drips!” so, again, I’m not sure if Paltrow is aware that IV drips and peptides are not the same thing. Upon looking into her “peptide-rich” moisturizer, I’m even less certain.
Calling it a “Youth Boost NAD+ Peptide Rich Cream” would suggest this $105 moisturizer has both NAD+ and a bunch of peptides. Peruse the ingredient list, and you’ll find it doesn’t even have NAD+. It has NMN, or nicotinamide mononucleotide, a precursor (another kind of building block) for NAD+. As for its peptide content, the marketing claims the cream features “biomimetic plant-derived peptides.” Again, the list only refers to one true peptide molecule: arginine/lysine polypeptide. (A polypeptide is a longer peptide; this one supposedly helps with wrinkles.) It also appears last. In skincare, the ingredient list is generally ordered in terms of concentration. The top three to five ingredients make up the bulk of the formula. One hack is to find the so-called “one percent line”, which you can estimate from when the first preservative or fragrance appears. Given how this list is written, this is a standard moisturizer with a teeny sprinkle of a single peptide thrown in for marketing flavor. Even if there was a more potent amount, peptides are delicate molecules. Effectiveness for any topical skincare active — be it peptides or salmon sperm DNA — depends on stable formulation, concentration, whether the molecule can penetrate the skin barrier, and packaging that prevents degradation.
In any case, I reached out to Goop to clarify the peptide content in this cream. I have not heard back.
The only thing I can conclude is Paltrow isn’t afraid to try fringe wellness trends. (That and she loves an IV drip.) If someone handed her a peptide shot with the promise of energy and youth, I’d bet she’d do it. But do I think a peptide-curious person could ask her to explain the pros and cons of this trend based on her public statements? Now that’s a bet I would not take.
I could be wrong. In which case, I find her statements and her moisturizer to be disappointing given her status and influence. Case in point, the average person likely isn’t going to go through the trouble of accessing gray market peptide vials. They probably won’t be able to afford the same quality treatments as Paltrow, either. But a so-called peptide cream from a celebrity? That’s easily accessible. And in this particular case, that consumer wouldn’t be getting much of the thing they purportedly want to try.
More concerning is the flattening of any injectable as a peptide. Paltrow showing up to a podcast with an IV drip, speaking of peptides, phospholipids, and regular vitamins in a single breath? That’s confusing. It conflates relatively harmless therapies — like vitamin supplementation — with those that aren’t as well-studied. And the more influential people do this, the more regular people will too.
Peptides aren’t inherently dangerous. Injections aren’t evil. But the way peptide mania has made a more extreme, experimental trend as casual as taking a multivitamin? That feels like the slipperiest of slopes.
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A new move from the Federal Communications Commission is being framed as a national security step. But if you already have a router at home, the bigger question is simple: how long will it keep getting security updates?
The FCC recently updated its “Covered List” to include routers produced in foreign countries, which blocks new models of that covered equipment from being approved for sale in the U.S.
At the same time, the FCC made something else clear. This change does not affect routers you already own, and it does not stop retailers from continuing to sell models that were previously approved.
So nothing shuts off overnight. However, the policy introduces a new layer of uncertainty around how long some devices will continue receiving updates.
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The FCC’s router move targets future approvals, not the device already running your home Wi-Fi. Existing models can still be used and sold while update rules keep evolving. (kazakova0684/Getty Images)
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What the FCC router rule actually changed
The policy focuses on future device approvals, not the devices already in your home.
Here is what the FCC says in plain terms:
- Existing routers can still be used
- Previously approved models can still be sold and imported
- New covered models cannot receive FCC authorization
This action is tied to national security concerns about supply chain risks, not a product-by-product security test of individual routers. The key takeaway is this: your current router is not banned, recalled or disabled.
Why the FCC router rule raises update concerns
The real issue is not about using your router today. It is about future software and firmware updates. Alongside the policy change, the FCC issued a temporary waiver. That waiver allows existing routers to continue receiving updates that patch vulnerabilities, maintain functionality and ensure compatibility with operating systems. Right now, that waiver runs through at least March 1, 2027.
That date is not a guaranteed cutoff. The FCC has said it will re-evaluate the policy before then and may extend or modify the waiver. So the situation is still evolving.
How the FCC router rule could affect your router security
Your router is the gateway to everything connected in your home. Phones, laptops, smart TVs and cameras all depend on it. When a vulnerability is discovered, a software update is usually what fixes it.
If updates slow down or stop, the risk builds over time. That does not mean your router suddenly becomes unsafe. But it can become easier for attackers to exploit known flaws.
Even the FCC acknowledged this in its waiver, noting that continued updates help mitigate harm to consumers and support essential security functions. So the concern is not immediate. It is about what happens over time if support policies change.
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The FCC says home routers already in use can stay in use, but future support for some models now depends on waivers and conditional approvals. (deepblue4you/Getty Images)
Why the FCC is making exceptions for some routers
One important wrinkle is that the FCC has already begun granting conditional approvals for some devices. In April 2026, the agency approved certain products from NETGEAR and Adtran to continue operating under specific conditions through October 1, 2027.
That shows this is not a one-size-fits-all rule. Instead, it is an evolving policy where some devices may continue receiving support while others may face tighter restrictions.
What the FCC says about router risks and next steps
The FCC says the decision is based on national security concerns, including supply chain vulnerabilities and potential cybersecurity risks tied to certain foreign-produced equipment.
At the same time, the policy includes a path for exceptions. Companies can seek conditional approvals through federal agencies, and regulators can revisit the rules as more information becomes available.
That means the final impact will likely depend on how those decisions play out over time.
8 ways to protect your network after the FCC router rule
Until there is more clarity, a few simple steps can help keep your home network secure.
1) Check how long your router is supported
First, find your router’s exact model number. You can usually see it on a label on the bottom or back of the device. Next, go to the manufacturer’s website, such as NETGEAR, Linksys or TP-Link, and search for that model. Open its support page and look for sections like Support, Downloads, Firmware or End of Life. Then, check for a support timeline, the date of the most recent firmware update or any notes saying the product is no longer supported. If you cannot find clear information, that is a warning sign that your router may not receive regular security updates.
2) Keep your router updated
Next, log into your router settings. To do this, open a web browser and type your router’s IP address into the address bar. Common ones include 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Then sign in using your admin username and password. Once you are in, look for sections labeled Firmware, Software Update or Administration. Check for available updates and install them if needed. If your router supports automatic updates, turn that on. This helps close security gaps quickly without you having to check manually. If you are not sure where to find these settings, you can also use your router’s mobile app if it has one, which often makes updates easier.
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Security updates remain the key protection for home routers as the FCC blocks new authorizations for covered foreign-produced models. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
3) Plan ahead for replacement
If your router is already a few years old, start planning for a replacement. Do not wait until updates stop. Instead, look for models with clearly stated support timelines. Check out our picks for the Top Routers for best security at cyberguy.com
4) Secure your devices as a backup layer
Your router is the first line of defense. However, your devices matter too. Keep your phone, computer and tablet updated. Also, use strong antivirus software to help catch threats that slip through. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
5) Review connected devices
From time to time, check what is connected to your network. You can do this in your router settings under “Connected Devices” or in your router’s app. If you see anything unfamiliar, remove it right away.
6) Use strong passwords
Create a strong Wi-Fi password and a separate admin password for your router. Avoid using default credentials. A password manager can help you generate and store secure logins. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com
7) Turn off remote access
First, log into your router settings using a web browser. Type your router’s IP address, such as 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, into the address bar and sign in with your admin credentials. Next, look for settings labeled Remote Access, Remote Management, Web Access from WAN, or Cloud Access. These are often found under sections like Advanced, Administration or Security. Then, turn that setting off and save your changes. This prevents your router from being accessed from outside your home network. If you cannot find the option, check your router’s mobile app or the manufacturer’s support page. Some routers hide this setting or disable it by default.
8) Restart your router regularly
First, unplug your router from the power outlet. Wait about 30 seconds to let it fully shut down. Next, plug it back in and wait a few minutes for it to reconnect to the internet. You can also restart your router through its settings. Log in, then look for options like Reboot or Restart under sections such as Administration or System. Doing this every few weeks can help apply updates and clear temporary issues that may affect performance or security. If your router supports scheduled reboots, you can turn that on to automate the process.
Kurt’s key takeaway
This is not a situation where your internet suddenly becomes unsafe. There is no recall. There is no shutdown. Your router will not stop working on a specific date. However, there is a new question mark that did not exist before. The Federal Communications Commission has created a system where future updates for some devices could depend on how the rules evolve. That puts more importance on something most people rarely think about: how long their router will stay supported. For now, you still have time. The current waiver runs into 2027, and regulators have signaled they may revisit the policy before then. The smart move is simple. Know what you own, keep it updated and stay aware as this situation develops.
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As policies around your home tech change, how much responsibility should fall on regulators versus the companies that keep your devices updated? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
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