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Election season should be about casting your vote and making your voice heard. But for scammers, it’s an opportunity to trick retirees into handing over personal details, money or even their vote itself.

What many don’t realize is that public voter registration data is one of the biggest tools fraudsters use. With elections coming up on Nov. 4, scammers are already scraping these records and using them to create targeted scams. If you’re a retiree or helping a parent or loved one prepare to vote, here’s how to stay safe.

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Why voter records are public and risky

HOW SCAMMERS TARGET YOU EVEN WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

Every state in the U.S. keeps voter registration lists. These include personal details like:

• Full name
• Home address
• Phone number (in some states)
• Political party affiliation
• Voting history (whether you voted, not who you voted for).

While these lists are meant for transparency, they’re often made available online or sold in bulk. Data brokers scoop them up, combine them with other records and suddenly scammers have a detailed profile of you: your age, address and voting habits. For retirees, this exposure is especially dangerous. Why? Because seniors are less likely to know that this information is floating around, making scams seem more convincing.

You can easily check where your personal information is exposed with a free data exposure scanner. 

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

Scams targeting retirees before Nov. 4

Here are the most common election-season cons fraudsters are already running:

1) Fake “polling place” updates

You might get a call, text or email saying your polling location has changed. Scammers may then direct you to a fake site that asks for your Social Security number or ID details “to confirm eligibility.”

2) “Voter ID update” messages

Since some states require voter ID, scammers will pose as election officials, claiming your ID is “out of date” or that you must upload personal documents. These go straight into the wrong hands.

RETIREES LOSE MILLIONS TO FAKE HOLIDAY CHARITIES AS SCAMMERS EXPLOIT SEASONAL GENEROSITY

3) Donation scams

Criminals set up fake political donation sites with names resembling real campaigns. Retirees who are politically active or generous with causes are prime targets here.

4) Absentee ballot phishing

Scammers know many seniors vote by mail. They’ll send emails offering to “help” with requests or track your ballot while stealing your personal data in the process.

Red flags to watch out for

Public voter data can make it easy for fraudsters to create convincing scams. (CyberGuy.com)

Scammers use clever tricks to make their messages seem urgent and official. Here are the warning signs that should make you pause before responding.

• Urgency: “Act now or lose your right to vote.” Scammers use deadlines to scare you.
• Unusual payment requests: No legitimate election office will ever ask for payment to vote or register.
• Strange links: If you’re asked to click on a link from a text or email, stop. Always go directly to your state’s official election website instead.
• Requests for sensitive info: Election officials don’t need your Social Security number or bank account details.

How retirees can stay safe this election season

Protecting yourself doesn’t mean opting out of civic life. It means taking a few smart steps:

1) Reduce your data footprint

This one matters most. The less personal data available about you, the fewer opportunities scammers have to trick you during election season. When they can view your age, address and even your voting history, they can craft messages that sound alarmingly real. The good news is you can take control and limit what’s out there.

Reaching every voter data broker or people-search site on your own is nearly impossible, and most make the process intentionally difficult. That’s why data removal services can help. They automatically send removal requests to hundreds of data-broker sites and keep monitoring to ensure your information doesn’t return. The result is fewer scam calls, fewer phishing emails and far less risk this election season.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.  It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

REMOVE YOUR DATA TO PROTECT YOUR RETIREMENT FROM SCAMMERS

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

2) Confirm only through official sources

If you get a message about your polling place, ignore any links and call your local election office directly. Each state also has an official website you can trust.

3) Sign up for ballot tracking

Many states offer secure ballot tracking online. Use only the official election site, not third-party services.

4) Freeze your credit

Since scammers use voter data to impersonate you, a credit freeze stops them from opening new accounts in your name. Retirees who don’t need frequent new credit are especially good candidates for this protection.

Taking steps to remove your personal info online helps keep your vote and data safe. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

5) Be wary of political donation sites

If you want to donate, type the campaign’s official website into your browser instead of clicking a link in an email or social media ad.

Kurt’s key takeaway

Voting is one of the most important rights we have. But this year, scammers will use public voter data to exploit retirees like never before. Don’t let them steal your peace of mind. By spotting the red flags, sticking to official election sources and removing your personal data from the web, you can protect yourself and your vote.

Have you or someone you know received a suspicious message about voting or donations? How did you realize or suspect that it was a scam? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Netflix has been investing a lot of time and energy into gaming, but the company sees its work on games as part of a broader initiative around interactivity, co-CEO Greg Peters said in today’s Q3 2025 earnings call.

“We’ve mostly talked so far about our work in this space as games because that’s an easy shorthand,” he said. “But we see this initiative as more about interactivity broadly. How does interactivity become complementary to linear storytelling? How is it able to unlock whole new entertainment experiences?” As an example, he mentioned real-time voting, which Netflix is currently testing with Dinner Time Live With David Chang and plans to use with its live Star Search revival in January. “We expect to provide other interactive features to deepen engagement with live events as we go in the future,” Peters said.

Recently, Netflix has also shaken up its gaming strategy to focus in part on multiplayer party games, including a batch that you’ll be able to play on your TV by using your smartphone as a controller. “These games are super easy to access,” Peters said. “
It’s just like our series and films. You scroll to the games tab, you pick whatever you want, click it, and you’re in. You don’t need a special controller — that’s key to this access.”

In the “years ahead,” Netflix expects that “creators will really find interesting and novel ways to unlock all of the power that is in this incredibly advanced controller that we all happen to have in our pockets, which, of course, is our phones,” Peters said.

The company is also putting its efforts into offering games based on its own franchises, games for kids, and more mainstream titles like Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition.

With its approach, Netflix sees that it “not only extends the audience’s engagement with a story, but it creates a synergy that reinforces both mediums, the interactive and the non-interactive side,” according to Peters. “It drives engagement and drives retention, therefore supports the business.” Down the line, the company is going to “ramp our investment in this area judiciously,” but Netflix is “extremely excited about the progress we’ve got ahead of us.”