You have not turned 65 yet. But somewhere, your birthday may already be flagged in a database. That milestone is tied to Medicare eligibility, Social Security decisions and major financial choices.

It can also put your name in front of insurance marketers, Medicare agents, lead generators and scammers around the same time.

Here is the part many people miss: turning 65 can become a targeting event. Your age, address, phone number, relatives’ names and other personal details may already be sitting on people-search sites and data broker lists.

Once you get close to Medicare age, those details can become more valuable. That is why it helps to prepare before the calls, texts, letters and emails start piling up.

REMOVE YOUR DATA TO PROTECT YOUR RETIREMENT FROM SCAMMERS

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Why turning 65 can put you on marketing lists

Data brokers collect and package personal information. They build basic profiles, and they can also create age-based lists tied to major life events. Turning 65 is a valuable trigger because Medicare enrollment, supplemental insurance decisions and Social Security timing all happen in a narrow window.

That narrow window creates demand from insurers, agents, lead generators and criminals looking for people who may be making big decisions. Legal marketing drives part of this activity. Aggressive sales tactics drive another part. Fraud drives the most dangerous part. The same information that helps send Medicare mailers to your mailbox can also help scammers sound more convincing when they call, text or email.

How data brokers turn your birthday into a business

Data brokers don’t just collect static information. They build age-triggered profiles, records that are specifically flagged and resold when a person approaches a major life milestone. Turning 65 is one of the most commercially valuable triggers in their entire database.

Why? Because Medicare enrollment, supplemental insurance decisions, and Social Security timing all happen in a narrow window. That creates enormous demand, from legitimate insurers, from aggressive lead generators, and from outright criminals, for a list of people who are about to become eligible. These lists are legal to compile. They’re legal to sell. And the same data that sends a flood of Medicare mailers to your mailbox is the same data that lands your name and phone number on a scammer’s calling sheet.

In fact, in 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took action on more than 73,000 unauthorized Medicare plan switches, cases where agents or bad actors enrolled people in plans they never agreed to, often without their knowledge. CMS has directly linked this surge of unauthorized activity to the aggressive use of lead generation databases and third-party data brokers feeding agent networks with pre-qualified prospect lists. That’s more than 73,000 people who woke up to find their Medicare coverage had been changed, and they never made a single call. And that’s before counting the impersonators.

The Social Security Administration reports that SSA impersonation scams are among the most reported fraud types in the United States, with losses in the hundreds of millions each year. The FTC logged over $76 million in losses from government impersonation scams in 2023 alone, a number that consistently spikes around Medicare enrollment season. Turning 65 doesn’t just open a door for you. It opens one for them, too.

The month-by-month countdown and what to do at each milestone

The good news: there’s a window. You don’t have to wait until the scam calls, texts or emails start arriving. Here’s exactly what to do, and when.

6 months out: Scrub your information before the targeting begins

This is your most important window, and most people miss it entirely. Six months before your 65th birthday, the data broker flags around your profile are already active. Marketing lists are being compiled. Lead generators are packaging your details. The calls haven’t started yet, but the infrastructure is being built.

Action 1: Search your own name right now

Go to Spokeo, Whitepages or BeenVerified and look up what a stranger sees when they search for you. Your age, address history, relatives’ names, phone numbers and property records are likely all there. That snapshot is what insurance agents and scammers are working from. If you’re interested in checking your exposure, some data removal services provide a free report on where your data is exposed and give results within an hour.

Action 2: Start removing your data from broker databases

Manually opting out of each data broker is possible, but it can take a lot of time. There are hundreds of these sites, and each one has its own removal process. Even after you opt out, your information can reappear later.

Start with the people-search sites that show the most personal details about you, such as your age, current address, past addresses, phone numbers and relatives’ names. Then request removal directly through each site’s opt-out page. You can also use a reputable data removal service to help automate the process. These services submit removal requests to many data brokers on your behalf and continue checking whether your information shows up again.

This step matters because scammers often use exposed personal details to sound more believable. If they know your age, address, family connections or past places you lived, a fake Medicare or Social Security message can feel much more convincing.

Getting ahead of this six months out can make the difference between a manageable trickle of calls, texts and emails and being overwhelmed at the worst possible moment.

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.

Action 3: Tell your family what’s coming

Let your spouse, adult children or close relatives know that your enrollment window is approaching and that scammers know it too. Establish a simple rule now: any unexpected call, text or email about Medicare, Social Security or benefits gets verified before any action is taken. No exceptions.

SCAMS THAT AREN’T ILLEGAL (BUT SHOULD BE)

3 months out: Lock down your accounts before the volume spikes

By now, the calls have likely started. That’s normal and expected. What matters is what you do before the fraudulent ones arrive.

Action 1: Contact Medicare directly to initiate enrollment, and only Medicare directly

You can enroll online at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

This sounds obvious. But this is exactly the moment when impersonators pose as Medicare representatives offering to “help you enroll.” The real Medicare program will never call you unsolicited, ask for payment over the phone, or pressure you to decide immediately. If anyone does, hang up.

Action 2: Change your security questions at your bank and financial institutions

This is urgent and almost always overlooked.

Data broker profiles routinely include your mother’s maiden name, previous addresses, city of birth, and other details that financial institutions still use as identity verification. A scammer with your broker profile can often answer these questions cold, without ever hacking a single account.

Call your bank, brokerage, and insurance providers. Switch to nonsense answers that only you know (“What was your childhood pet’s name?” “RedTruckSeven”). Store them in a password manager. This one step can prevent account takeovers that your password alone can’t stop.

Action 3: Place a credit freeze with all three bureaus

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all allow free credit freezes. A freeze doesn’t affect your score or any existing accounts; it simply prevents new lines of credit from being opened in your name without your direct authorization.

Medicare enrollment season is prime time for identity theft tied to new account fraud. Freeze first. Unfreeze only when you need to.

1 month out: Get your Medicare card — and protect it like a Social Security number

This is crunch time. Decisions are being made, paperwork is arriving, and the volume of contact, both legitimate and fraudulent, is at its peak.

Action 1: Confirm your Medicare card arrival and treat it like classified information

Your Medicare card arrives by mail and carries your Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), a unique number that functions, for medical purposes, like a Social Security number. In the wrong hands, it can be used to bill Medicare for services you never received. Do not carry the physical card in your wallet. Take a photo of it, store it securely, and give the number only to verified providers. Medicare fraud through stolen or misused MBI numbers costs the program an estimated $60 billion per year.

Action 2: Verify every agent before sharing any information

If someone contacts you claiming to be a Medicare advisor, insurance broker, or benefits specialist, verify them independently before saying anything. Ask for their National Producer Number (NPN). Every licensed insurance agent in the United States is required to have one. Look it up yourself at nipr.com before continuing the conversation. Agents involved in the more than 73,000 unauthorized plan switches often relied on people not knowing this check existed.

Action 3: Confirm your Social Security status directly with the SSA

Log in or create an account at ssa.gov. Confirm your benefit amounts, confirm your contact information on file, and make sure no changes have been made without your knowledge. SSA impersonators frequently call during this window, claiming there’s a problem with your record, creating false urgency to get your Social Security number or bank account information. If you receive one of these calls, hang up. Call SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213. The real SSA will never threaten arrest, demand gift cards, or require immediate payment.

HOW TO HAND OFF DATA PRIVACY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS TO A TRUSTED LOVED ONE

The week of: One final sweep before your coverage goes live

Your birthday week is the finish line, but it’s also when the most aggressive targeting happens, because time pressure creates vulnerability.

Action 1: Confirm your plan enrollment directly through Medicare.gov

Log in to your Medicare account and verify exactly what you’re enrolled in. Check that your plan name, coverage type, and effective date are what you chose. If anything looks wrong, an unfamiliar plan name, a plan you don’t recognize, call 1-800-MEDICARE immediately and report it. This is how you catch an unauthorized switch before it affects your coverage.

Action 2: Run one final data broker check

A lot can change in six months. Search your name again on people-search sites and verify what’s still publicly visible. If Incogni has been running in the background, you should see a meaningful reduction in what appears. If new information has surfaced, a recent address, a new phone number, flag it for removal.

Action 3: Set up a call screening system going forward

The targeting doesn’t stop after your birthday. Medicare open enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7 every year, and scam activity spikes again each fall. Turn on your phone’s built-in spam call filtering, register your number with the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov, and consider using your carrier’s call protection service (most offer one for free). These won’t stop every call, but they’ll reduce the noise significantly.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Your 65th birthday can put your name on lists used by marketers, agents, lead generators and scammers. Medicare scams can become especially dangerous because the timing feels real. You are already expecting mail, calls and decisions, which gives criminals an opening. Start early. Six months out, look for your personal information online and begin removing it. Three months out, lock down your financial accounts and freeze your credit. One month out, protect your Medicare card and verify any agent before sharing information. During your birthday week, check your Medicare enrollment directly and set up call screening for the months ahead. The people targeting you are counting on confusion. A clear month-by-month plan gives you control before someone tries to take it from you.

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If companies can profit from knowing when you turn 65, should they also be responsible when that data helps scammers target you? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Last week, we noted Kickstarter’s new content guidelines, which had some pretty weird new additions, including a prohibition on “sexual wellness products that are not designed for insertion or penetration and are not marketed primarily for sexual gratification.” Those rules have now been eliminated and the company has restored an earlier version of its guidelines.

The updates to the rules were primarily driven by requirements from our payments processor, Stripe. Stripe operates under its own legal and compliance requirements separate from Kickstarter’s own rules. And even Stripe’s rules are dictated by a larger system shaped by financial institutions that govern how money moves globally.

Kickstarter says that it’s seen “a growing number of campaigns” that it approved but then got “suspended by Stripe mid-funding.” The company also says it’s “advocated for those creators directly with Stripe,” because “we believe in the work and because creators deserve to see their campaigns through.”

After the new rules were issued a week ago, we immediately asked Kickstarter for comment, followed up to get an answer, and didn’t receive a full response until today — when the company pointed us toward its public post. We had asked how the company defined the distinction between “sexual wellness” and “sexual gratification,” and when I pushed Kickstarter today to address our original question after its revocation of the rules, here’s what we got, from KS director of comms Nikki Kria:

Given that we’ve reverted to our previous guidelines, the specific rule you’re referencing is no longer in effect. I don’t want to parse language from guidelines we’ve already walked back. The blog post reflects our current position and is the most accurate representation of where we stand.

“Mature” content has been strictly regulated by payment processors for years, so it’s no surprise that Kickstarter felt compelled to comply. In fact, it is Stripe that says businesses can’t sell “sexually explicit materials” that are designed for the purpose of “sexual gratification.” Kickstarter’s blog post points to those rules as an explanation for its own now-rescinded rules and insists that the recent update doesn’t represent its values — including the “f*ck the establishment spirit of Kickstarter.” (But perhaps the establishment is still too strong to say the word “fuck” uncensored.)

Kickstarter says its community let it know “loud and clear” that the new rules were wrong and that it’s “going back to the drawing board.” It also says it’s “continuing to push Stripe for flexibility, clarity, and consistency.” We’ll have to wait and see whether a platform that’s helped fund creators with billions of dollars can stand tall against the ones moving the money. In the meantime, creators on the platform could still get burned from Stripe’s rules, even if Kickstarter stands against them.