Technology
Five data broker opt-out myths that leave retirees exposed
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Have you already tried removing your personal information from data broker sites? Maybe you Googled your name, didn’t like what you saw and spent the afternoon filling out opt-out forms on sites like Spokeo, Whitepages and BeenVerified.
That took real effort, and it wasn’t wasted. Still, it doesn’t mean you’re fully protected. The problem comes down to how data brokers operate. Their system isn’t intuitive, and common misconceptions leave people exposed without realizing it.
For retirees with decades of public records, property ownership and family connections, the gap between feeling safe and actually being safe can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
After years of covering scams, one pattern keeps showing up. The most targeted victims are not people who ignored the risks. They are people who took action and believed it was enough. Let’s fix that right now.
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HOW TO REMOVE YOUR PERSONAL INFO FROM PEOPLE-SEARCH SITES
Data broker listings often include sensitive details like your address, phone number and relatives, making removal a critical first step. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Myth #1: “I already opted out, so my data is gone”
This is the most dangerous myth of all. And it’s the one I hear most often from retirees who’ve already taken steps to protect themselves.
Here’s the reality: there are hundreds of data broker companies operating in the United States. When you submit an opt-out request to Spokeo, you’ve removed yourself from one of them.
The others? They never heard from you. They’re still listing your name, your address, your phone number, your relatives and your estimated net worth — right now, as you read this.
And even the site you opted out of? It will likely relist your information within weeks or months. Data brokers pull from public records — property filings, voter rolls, court documents — that are constantly updated. Every time those records refresh, your profile can quietly reappear.
Unless you repeat them regularly, manual opt-outs don’t protect you in the long term. They buy you a temporary gap in coverage on a limited number of data broker websites.
You can use Incogni’s free scanner to check the biggest data broker sites for your information. You may be surprised by how much is still out there.
Myth #2: “My family members’ data doesn’t affect me — or vice-versa”
This one is painful because it involves the people you love most. Data broker profiles don’t just list you. They list your household. They list your relatives. And they map the connections between all of you.
When your daughter opted out of data broker sites, she removed her own profile. But your profile still lists her as a relative, with her current city, her approximate age, and her connection to you. That’s enough.
A scammer calls you: “Grandpa, it’s me. I’m in the hospital. Please don’t tell Mom-she’ll worry. Can you wire me $1,200?”
Scammers may already have your granddaughter’s name and understand your exact relationship to her. They know she’s your granddaughter, not your daughter, and that detail makes the call feel real. That level of accuracy is what triggers panic and lowers your guard. In some cases, they can even clone her voice using AI.
This is called the grandparent scam. It has evolved from a clumsy, random cold call into a precision-targeted operation built on data broker research. According to the FBI’s Annual IC3 Report, both the losses and number of victims of elder fraud have been climbing steeply over the last three years, with average losses in 2025 reaching $38,500.
10 SIGNS YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING SOLD ONLINE
Taking simple steps early, like removing your data and freezing your credit, can reduce your risk during the most vulnerable time. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Myth #3: “My information isn’t interesting enough to target”
I understand why this feels true. You’re (probably) not a celebrity, don’t have a massive social media following, and have lived a private life.
But here’s what a scammer sees when they pull up your data broker profile:
A paid-off home (public property records show no mortgage). A Social Security income estimate. An address you’ve held for more than 20 years. The names of your adult children and their addresses. A spouse or late spouse. And those specific details that answer every security question your bank still uses: mother’s maiden name, previous address and the city you were born in.
To a criminal, that profile is a goldmine. In fact, personal information is implicated in 72% of elder fraud cases.
Retirees represent the single most targeted group for financial fraud in the United States. Not because older Americans are more naive. It’s because their data broker profiles are richer than anyone else’s, built over 60 or 70 years of public records.
Myth #4: “If I haven’t been targeted yet, I must be safe”
Let me offer a different perspective. You haven’t been targeted yet. Or, more likely, you have been targeted, and the attempt simply didn’t land. A phishing email went to spam. A suspicious call got hung up on. A text message felt off in some way and you ignored it. Does any of that sound familiar? Here’s what hasn’t changed: your profile is still there, still searchable, and regularly being updated.
Data brokers don’t delete inactive profiles. They maintain them, refresh them, and sell access to them repeatedly. The question isn’t whether your information is available to scammers. It is. The question is whether the right scammer has found it yet-and whether they’ve decided the payoff is worth the attempt.
Some data brokers have been caught red-handed packaging large datasets and selling them directly to scammers for elder fraud.
Retirees with home equity, retirement accounts, or Medicare benefits are especially attractive targets. A scammer doesn’t need to reach 100 people. They need to reach one person at the right moment after a loss, during a health scare, when the grandchildren are mentioned and their research pays off.
THE DATA BROKER OPT-OUT STEPS EVERY RETIREE SHOULD TAKE TODAY
Removing personal data from data broker sites can reduce exposure to scammers and help protect finances and privacy. (Phil Barker/Future Publishing)
Myth #5: “This is a tech problem for younger people to worry about”
Your grandchildren grew up online. Maybe you didn’t, but that doesn’t mean digital threats can’t touch you. But data brokers don’t care when you were born. They care what you own, what you’ve signed and what public records document about your life. And for most retirees, those records go back further and run deeper than anyone else’s:
- Property deeds filed when you bought your first home in 1978
- Divorce proceedings from three decades ago
- Probate records from when you inherited property
- Business registrations
- Political donor records
- Decades of address changes.
All of that is legally collected and ends up in data broker databases. And all of it makes your profile more complete-and more dangerous-than your grandchildren’s. This isn’t a tech problem. It’s a paper-trail problem. And the paper trail you’ve left over a lifetime is the most detailed (and valuable) one in the household.
So what’s the solution?
The only real answer is regular, repeated data removal for you, and ideally, your entire family.
Submitting a few opt-out requests once is not enough. Your information keeps resurfacing as public records update, which means you have to stay on top of it. That can involve revisiting sites, sending new requests and checking where your data appears over time.
Some people choose to handle this manually, while others use automated services that send ongoing removal requests across hundreds of data broker sites. The key is consistency, because this system does not stop collecting or refreshing your information.
Think of it like a leak that keeps coming back. You can scoop water out now and then, or you can stay ahead of it with a system that keeps working in the background.
If you want a clearer picture of your exposure, you can run a scan to see where your personal information shows up online. That gives you a starting point and helps you understand how much work it really takes to stay protected.
See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Protecting your personal data starts with action, but real protection takes more than a few opt-out forms. Submitting requests to a handful of data broker sites only limits exposure temporarily, and those same sites can relist your details as public records refresh. Retirees face a greater risk because their profiles hold decades of information that scammers can easily connect across family members. In many cases, scammers reach out but fail to succeed due to timing or suspicion, not because your data stays hidden. Staying protected requires consistent effort, since data brokers keep collecting and updating information behind the scenes.
If your personal data can resurface at any time, how confident are you that it is not already being used against you? 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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Dublin, Ohio, gave a robot cop a trial run inside a public parking garage. Less than a year later, the machine was off the job and headed back to its maker.
DubBot, a Knightscope security robot used by the Dublin Police Department, was meant to help deter crime, support emergency response and give the city another way to monitor a busy public space. However, its patrols led to zero arrests, tickets or criminal cases.
Now the failed pilot raises a bigger question nationwide. Should local leaders have to prove these machines work before putting them on patrol?
AI TO MONITOR NYC SUBWAY SAFETY AS CRIME CONCERNS RISE
Dublin’s robot cop pilot ended after its patrols led to zero arrests, tickets or criminal cases. (Knightscope)
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Ohio robot cop ends its parking garage patrol
DubBot began patrolling the Rock Cress Parking Garage in July 2025. The robot was one of Knightscope’s K5 Autonomous Security Robots, the tall white security machines built to move through public spaces and act as an extra set of eyes.
Dublin retired DubBot on May 12 after deciding the pilot no longer fit the city’s operational needs. The robot has since gone back to Knightscope.
The city’s public safety page now says the autonomous safety robot pilot has ended. It also notes that Dublin added other security measures at the Rock Cress garage, including entrance and exit gate arms and mirrors.
What the Ohio robot cop was supposed to do
DubBot was designed to support police operations, deter crime and give people another way to reach emergency help. The robot had 360-degree video cameras, two-way emergency communication and an emergency call button that could connect people with dispatchers.
In theory, that sounds useful. A robot moving through a parking garage could make people feel watched over. It could also give police a live look at an area without assigning an officer there full time.
WHEELED, RUGGED ROBOT DOG BUILT FOR EXTREME INDUSTRIAL MISSIONS
But let’s be real here. A camera on wheels still has to solve a real problem. Parking garages have awkward corners, quick encounters and plenty of moments where something can happen fast. A robot moving at walking speed may create a visible presence. However, presence alone does not equal public safety results.
How much the Ohio robot cop cost
Dublin spent $128,080 in the first year of the agreement. The city expects a reimbursement from Knightscope of about $60,500, bringing the final cost down to $67,548.
The original plan was larger. Dublin had planned to pay $238,440 for two robots over two years. However, the second robot never rolled out. It was supposed to serve Riverside Crossing Park, but development needs and infrastructure limits kept it from going into service.
SMART STREET SENSORS COULD BE WATCHING YOUR CITY NEXT
That leaves one robot, one parking garage and a pilot that ended with no arrests, no criminal cases and no tickets.
The city also collected no other performance metrics because the pilot was meant to test the robot before any expansion.
That part should make taxpayers pause. When a city tests an expensive public safety tool, people deserve a clear way to judge whether it worked.
US TARGETS CHINESE ROBOTS OVER SECURITY FEARS
Why cities keep testing robot cops
You can understand why local governments keep looking at these robots. Police departments are stretched. Public spaces need coverage. Parking garages, parks and transit hubs can be hard to monitor with people alone.
Security robots promise a lot. They can move around, stream video, offer a help button and act as a visible deterrent. They also give a city a technology-forward image, which can sound appealing during a public safety pitch.
The challenge comes after the rollout. When a city says a robot deters crime, officials should explain how they will measure deterrence. When the robot supports emergency response, the city should track how often people use the help button. When the robot helps investigations, officials should show whether its video helped solve cases. Without that kind of follow-up, a robot can become a pricey symbol rather than a useful safety tool.
HUMANOID ROBOTS JUST GOT A WORKPLACE SAFETY SYSTEM
Other robot cop pilots have struggled too
Dublin is hardly the only city to test a Knightscope K5 and then move on. New York City tried a K5 robot in the Times Square subway station. That pilot ended after several months. Reports at the time noted that officers had to chaperone the robot and that the machine could not use stairs.
San Antonio International Airport also tested a Knightscope robot. That trial ran into technical problems, including navigation issues, camera focus problems and trouble with live video and audio feeds.
Those cases do not prove that every security robot will fail. They do show that public spaces are tough testing grounds. A robot may look impressive in a demo, then struggle when crowds, tight spaces, doors, stairs and real people get involved.
The Knightscope K5 security robot was designed to monitor public spaces and connect people with emergency dispatchers. (Knightscope)
Robot cops raise privacy questions
The other issue here is privacy. Dublin has a broader public safety technology program that includes drones, license plate readers, security cameras, body-worn cameras and facial recognition technology under a formal policy. Add a roaming robot with cameras and emergency communication, and residents may have fair questions.
What does the robot record? Who can access the footage? How long does the city keep it? Does the system use facial recognition? What happens when someone presses the emergency button? What data goes to the company?
Cities should answer those questions before a robot starts patrolling public spaces. The point isn’t to reject every new tool. The point is to make sure public safety tech comes with public accountability.
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What this means to you
If a robot starts patrolling your local garage, mall, park or transit hub, do not get distracted by the cool tech factor. The first question should be: What does it actually do when something goes wrong?
Can it connect you to a real person fast? Is someone watching the video when it matters? Can it help during an emergency, or does it mostly record what has already happened?
But let’s be real here. If your tax dollars are paying for this kind of technology, your city should explain the goal before the robot rolls out. Otherwise, people may only learn whether it worked after the money has already been spent. New technology can sound impressive. However, results still count.
SCAMMERS CAN EXPLOIT YOUR DATA FROM JUST 1 CHATGPT SEARCH
Your phone holds your email, passwords, photos, banking apps and personal data. In this free CyberGuy Live replay, Kurt the CyberGuy walks you step by step through simple phone security fixes you can do at your own pace. You’ll learn how to improve your privacy settings, spot the latest phone scams, use trusted security tools and walk away with a simple checklist to stay protected. Watch the replay and get our checklist here:CyberGuyLive.com.
Kurt’s key takeaways
A robot cop patrolled a parking garage, led to zero arrests and then got sent back. That should make taxpayers ask some hard questions. But let’s be real here. If local leaders are paying for AI-powered public safety tools, they should explain what problem the tech solves, how success will be measured and what happens to the data it collects. Dublin deserves credit for ending the pilot when DubBot failed to deliver enough value. A robot can look like progress, but the real test is whether it makes people safer and gives taxpayers results they can actually see.
DubBot patrolled the Rock Cress Parking Garage in Dublin, Ohio, before the city ended the robot pilot program. (The City of Dublin)
Would you feel safer knowing a robot was watching your public space, or should your city have to prove the machine works before spending your tax dollars? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
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- Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
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