Your home address, phone number and relatives' names may be sitting on people-search websites you've never visited. Anyone who finds those listings could learn more about you than you're comfortable sharing. A data broker opt-out can help reduce that exposure, especially during retirement, when protecting your finances, family and home becomes a priority.

And a tragic case in Minnesota shows why publicly available personal information deserves a closer look. Here's what happened in Minnesota and the steps you can take to make your personal information harder to find online.

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WHAT A SCAMMER SEES THE MOMENT THEY GOOGLE YOUR NAME

Minnesota attacks expose a troubling privacy risk

In June 2025, Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were murdered in a targeted attack. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were seriously injured in a separate shooting. Investigators discovered notebooks containing the names of public officials and a handwritten list of 11 people-search websites in the suspect's vehicle. The list included TruePeopleSearch, Spokeo, Pipl, PeopleFinders, BeenVerified, Whitepages, TruthFinder, Intelius, Ownerly, USSearch and PeopleLooker. The notes described which services were free and what information someone could find through them.

However, the discovery alone did not establish whether the websites supplied the victims' addresses. On June 11, Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to federal charges involving the murders, shootings and stalking of the victims. He was sentenced on July 23 to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison. Separate state charges remain pending. The case raised an unsettling question: How easily could someone find your home address and information about your family?

What data brokers know about you

Data brokers collect information from public records, online activity, commercial databases and other sources. They then combine those details into profiles that businesses and individuals may be able to purchase or access. Some companies specialize in marketing information. Others operate people-search websites that make personal details available through free searches or paid reports.

Depending on the company and the available records, those profiles may include:

• Your current and previous home addresses
• Phone numbers and email addresses
• Age, birth date and marital status
• Names of relatives and possible associates
• Property ownership and estimated home values
• Employment and education history
• Purchasing interests and other consumer information
• Financial, health-related or political inferences

Not every broker collects or sells all this information. Credit reporting agencies also operate under different legal requirements than many people-search services. Still, these records can reveal details you never intended to share with strangers. For a closer look at how criminals assemble this information, read our CyberGuy report on how scammers build a profile on you using data brokers.

Want to see how much of your personal information may already be exposed? Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

Why exposed personal information is risky for retirees

Scammers can use publicly available details to make their stories more convincing. As a result, a suspicious call or message may sound surprisingly personal.

Here are some of the potential risks.

• Financial scams: Someone who knows your age, address and family relationships may use those details to impersonate a financial institution, government agency or relative. That familiarity can make a fraudulent request sound credible.
• Home and personal safety: People-search listings may expose where you live, where you previously lived and who lives nearby. This can be particularly concerning for people dealing with stalking, harassment or threats.
• Medicare and healthcare fraud: A scammer who knows your name, age or location could use those details to make a fake Medicare call or insurance offer seem legitimate. Never provide your Medicare number to an unexpected caller.
• Family impersonation scams: Criminals may use relatives' names and personal details to create convincing emergency stories. They might claim someone you love needs money immediately.
• Spam calls and unwanted messages: Data brokers and marketing lists can contribute to unwanted contact. However, removing your information will not eliminate every robocall, spam text or phishing email.

Even if you've never experienced one of these problems, reducing the amount of personal information available online can make it harder for someone to research you.

THE SECRET LIST THAT TELLS SCAMMERS YOU'RE AN EASY TARGET

How to opt out of data brokers yourself

You can request removal from many people-search websites for free. However, each company may have different requirements, and removing a listing doesn't always prevent it from returning.

Here's how to get started.

• Search for yourself online. Look up your full name, city, current address and phone number. Check major people-search websites for matching listings. Avoid paying for reports unless you have a specific reason.
• Save the website addresses. Keep a record of the pages exposing your information so you can return to them later.
• Find each site's removal instructions. Look for links labeled "Opt Out," "Remove My Information" or "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information." You can also check the site's privacy policy.
• Submit your removal request. Follow the company's instructions. Some sites require you to verify your identity or confirm that the record belongs to you. Share only the information necessary to complete the request.
• Complete any verification steps. Check your email for confirmation links or follow-up instructions. A request may remain incomplete until you finish the process.
• Consider search-result removal. If sensitive information appears in Google search results, you may qualify to request its removal. Keep in mind that removing a search result does not erase the information from the original website.
• Check again periodically. Brokers may refresh their records, and previously removed details can reappear. Revisit the sites and submit new requests when necessary.

A new privacy shortcut for California residents

If you live in California, you now have another option. The state's free Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) at privacy.ca.gov/drop/ launched in January 2026. It allows eligible residents to submit one deletion request to more than 600 registered data brokers. Beginning August 1, 2026, covered data brokers were required to start processing those requests. The system also requires recurring checks for matching information, although legal exceptions apply and removal is not immediate. Other states have their own privacy laws and removal rights, so your options may depend on where you live.

How a data removal service can help protect your personal information

If manually contacting dozens of websites sounds exhausting, a data removal service can handle much of the work for you. These services help identify data brokers and people-search websites that may have your information. They can also submit removal requests on your behalf and follow up when necessary.

Depending on the provider and subscription plan, available features may include:

• Automated removal requests: Services contact covered data brokers and people-search websites to request deletion of your personal information.
• Recurring removals: Some providers periodically repeat requests and check whether previously removed information has reappeared.
• Progress reports: You can track removal requests and review updates about which companies have responded.
• Multiple personal details: Certain services let you submit current and previous addresses, email addresses and phone numbers to help identify matching records.
• Custom removals: Some providers allow you to submit additional website links for review and possible removal assistance.

To get started, choose a reputable data removal service, create an account and provide the information needed to identify your records. You'll typically need to authorize the service to submit removal requests on your behalf. Some providers also offer family plans that cover multiple household members.

Before subscribing, compare the websites each service covers, its removal process, ongoing monitoring features and subscription costs.

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.

What a data removal service cannot do

Even with automated removal, some personal information may remain publicly accessible. Property ownership records, government databases and certain court records can continue displaying details about you. Data removal services generally cannot force government agencies to delete legally available public records.

Additionally, not every website must honor a removal request. Some services offer custom removals, but legal restrictions and technical limitations can prevent certain information from being deleted.

Removing data broker listings also cannot undo previous data breaches or guarantee that scammers will stop contacting you.

Still, reducing the number of websites exposing your information can make it harder for strangers to find personal details. For retirees, that added privacy can help reduce exposure to targeted scams and unwanted contact.

Kurt's key takeaways

What concerns me most is how much someone can learn about you without ever meeting you. Your address, family connections and personal history can give scammers information they can use to gain your trust. And once that information starts circulating, controlling where it goes becomes difficult. That's why I recommend taking a proactive approach. Start by finding out what's publicly available, remove what you can and keep checking. If the process becomes overwhelming, a reputable data removal service can help with the ongoing work. You may never erase every trace of yourself from the internet, but you can make your personal information harder to find.

Have you ever searched your name on a people-search website and been surprised by how much information was available? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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A Biden-appointed federal judge in California ruled Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security must halt certain investigations into suspected illegal voting, citing concerns over voter intimidation.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, the jurist in question, was born in Mexico and nominated to the federal bench by President Joe Biden in 2022. Before becoming a federal judge, Martínez-Olguín spent about six years at the American Civil Liberties Union, a progressive civil rights organization, where she worked on women's and immigrants' rights issues.

The activist groups suing DHS "demonstrate[d] that they are likely to succeed in their claim that Defendants have run afoul of the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition of intimidating voter assistance and mobilization," according to Martínez-Olguín.

DOJ OFFICIAL DEFENDS TRUMP'S NONCITIZEN VOTER PROBE ON '60 MINUTES,' ACCUSES SHOW OF EDITING OUT HER ANSWERS

The public’s "interests in safe elections, free from interference or intimidation, far exceed (the government’s) purported interest in combating unlawful voting by non-U.S. citizens," she added.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, maintained that noncitizen voting in federal elections is a crime and that DHS has statutory authority to investigate suspected violations. Martínez-Olguín did not find investigating noncitizen voting as itself unlawful, but instead argued that DHS’ methods likely violate the law as it used unreliable source data and sent armed agents to homes to conduct interviews, which could constitute intimidation.

STATE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SHARING PASSPORT RECORDS FOR VOTER CITIZENSHIP CHECKS

Lawyers representing the federal government conceded that some American citizens may have been looked at in connection with DHS’ investigations, but contended that in-person interviews were "expressly designed to resolve the discrepancies."

Noncitizen voting is rare, but cases of illegal voting have been documented. News broke earlier this year, for example, that New Jersey erroneously placed over 6,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls. The Justice Department announced charges against 16 individuals in September, including noncitizens accused of voting illegally in federal elections, and brought additional election-related charges in October.

NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION

Martínez-Olguín’s order blocks DHS from carrying out certain field investigations into suspected illegal voting involving U.S. citizens in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Several of those states are led by Democrats who have opposed the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, and some face high-profile elections in November.

Cracking down on illegal voting has been a priority for the second Trump administration, though it has yet to produce evidence of widespread noncitizen voting.

The judge delayed enforcement of her order until Friday, giving the Trump administration time to appeal, and set the restrictions to expire on Election Day unless otherwise ordered.

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"DHS is laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens. ONLY Americans should elect American leaders," a spokesperson for the department told Fox News Digital. "We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens."

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) urged Kansans who voted for President Donald Trump to turn out in the Senate election, arguing that border security, lower taxes, and military funding were at stake in his race against Democrat Adam Hamilton.

The post Roger Marshall Reminds Kansas Voters Border Security, Tax Cuts Are at Stake in Senate Race appeared first on Breitbart.

Portuguese councils and hospitals are among 29 public bodies identified as using outdated website software, amid an international security alert over flaws that could allow hackers to take control of

The post Portuguese councils and hospitals caught in worldwide website security alert appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Security researchers say it is one of the most severe vulnerabilities ever discovered ‘in software history’

Security researchers say it is one of the most severe vulnerabilities ever discovered ‘in software history’

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., denied Wednesday that she married her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to commit immigration fraud and pushed back against claims that they are related.

But when asked if there's any familial relation with her ex-husband, Omar admitted, "Not to my knowledge." 

The interview marked the Somali-born congresswoman's first time speaking with the media since federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence on Oct. 12. The congresswoman's office has not responded to Fox News Digital's repeated requests for comment regarding the investigations and raid on her home earlier this month.

ILHAN OMAR BELIEVES TRUMP RAID ON HOME WAS MEANT TO 'INTIMIDATE AND SCARE PEOPLE' FROM VOTING

"It all started with the Somali blog," Omar told MS Now host Chris Hayes regarding longstanding rumors that they are siblings. "Somebody put it there, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect."

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a court-authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into possible false statements in Omar's immigration and naturalization documents.

The Justice Department has not publicly detailed the allegations.

FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR'S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved the warrant, according to court-related reporting.

Omar has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated. She appeared publicly for the first time since last Monday's raid with a video posted to social media from the back of a car where she asked supporters to keep sending her money.

Federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of Omar's family, and seized her cellphone during the investigation, according to The Associated Press.

Fox News Digital reported that Omar's sister, Sahra Noor, spoke with federal investigators last week in the wake of the raid.

ILHAN OMAR RAID SPARKS OMINOUS PREDICTION FROM WATCHDOG: 'THEY PROBABLY GOT THE GOODS'

A separate inquiry from the immigration fraud investigation is examining Omar's campaign finances and financial disclosures. 

That investigation reportedly began during the Biden administration in 2024. The complaint about her massive wealth disparity in her disclosures was dismissed by congressional ethics hawks but is now being investigated by authorities outside the Capitol, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced last week.

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Both investigations remain ongoing.

• Mave has raised $34 million to bring AI agents to companies' security operations.
• CEO Raziel Oren said old systems can't keep up with how quickly AI is transforming cyberattacks.
• Business Insider got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Mave used to raise its Series A round.

Mave, a cybersecurity startup that uses agents to counter the rise in AI-powered cyberattacks, has raised $34 million in funding.

The Israel-based startup says its AI agents pull together information from a company's existing security systems, investigate alerts, filter out false alarms, and take actions approved by human teams.

"Security operations is the last gate in any organization," cofounder and CEO Raziel Oren said, comparing it to the physical security guards who monitor a building's live camera footage. "This thing is really broken from the inside. The roots of the solutions there are just not keeping the relevant pace with the emerging threats."

AI has transformed cyber threats at a dizzying pace. Attacks can happen much faster and on a much larger scale, and Oren predicted that the increase in agent-powered incidents will be "exponential."

Mave says its own agents help human security teams keep up. "You can't hire your way out of this," Oren told Business Insider. "There must be a change in how you do [security operations] in order to protect your organizations."

Oren cofounded Mave with Guy Eshel in 2025 after years of friendship. The two met when Oren was Eshel's mentor in unit 8200 of the Israel Defense Forces, which sits under the intelligence corps and gave them firsthand experience with cybersecurity issues.

AI agents have come under the spotlight after a string of high-profile security breaches. Corporate leaders have grown increasingly worried about the cybersecurity risks AI poses, and some of Wall Street's executives spent third-quarter earnings calls explaining how they're defending against rogue AI agents.

The technology has also been used by researchers to uncover security flaws: this week, OpenAI said one of its AI models had helped identify a vulnerability that puts 70% of the world's websites at risk.

Oren said it takes some customers time to become comfortable handing over security operations to agents, but that the product's transparency is key to building trust. Mave says its agents track each step of their thousands of workflows, giving human employees insight into the agents' reasoning and actions.

Mave charges its customers a flat rate, depending on the company's size and needs. Other startups have also jumped at the opportunity Mave sees, including agentic cybersecurity companies Dropzone and Prophet Security.

Mave's $34 million funding consists of $28 million from a recent Series A round, led by Red Dot Capital Partners and with participation from Lumir Growth Partners, and an earlier $6 million seed round.

The startup currently has 30 employees and plans to use some of the fresh capital to continue expanding the team, mainly for go-to-market roles and AI research.

Read the pitch deck Mave used to raise its Series A round:

The co-founders met in the army.

Cyberattacks are happening much faster.

Mave consolidates security operations.

In one instance, Mave says it stopped ShinyHunters, a cybercriminal group.

Customers include Fortune 200 and Fortune 500 companies.

Government, banking and other key websites taken offline to respond to panic over technology that powers much of the internet

Government, banking and other key websites taken offline to respond to panic over technology that powers much of the internet

Instead of prioritizing stakeholder profit, the Witkoff-Europe combo should address Eurasian security architecture and NATO-Russia-China frontiers to gain traction in Moscow.

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Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su

Back in December 2025, U.S. commentator Sundance, writing in the Conservative Treehouse, wrote about Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s new ‘Money Diplomacy’ solution for Ukraine that “require[d] [the establishment of] a system whereby the western opportunity for financial benefit continues”. From this perspective, the U.S. negotiators would “propose a long-term plan for continued financial benefit”.

From their current language it appears that Witkoff and Kusher are still confident they can construct a financial reward system for western banks, investors, politicians and Ukraine officials that will retain the benefits of war without the ancillary ingredient of bloodshed.

As Sundance noted —

“If the U.S. delegation can pull this off, then Russia can gain the territory they want, corrupt Ukraine officials can keep skimming investment money, the EU can retain the power it wants to extract financial payments, American politicians can use the “long-term recovery projects” for money laundering, and quasi-public/private investment banks can benefit from the exploitation of Ukraine resources”.

From this evident New York real estate worldview, all other issues — territorial boundaries, security and NATO’s encroachment into Central Asia’s security architecture — are but ‘downstream details’ “to the stuff that really matters, the money”.

Monetary diplomacy, however, has not brought a solution for Ukraine (nor for that matter, for Gaza either). Nonetheless, Witkoff has a new plan that David Ignatius has outlined in his column at the Washington Post.

Ignatius highlights that despite the recent Ukraine “flap” over its targetting of Russian refineries, “the U.S. and Europe are moving toward a joint peace proposal that would deliver financial and security benefits to both Ukraine and Russia as a baseline for a territorial settlement that falls short of both sides’ war aims”. In other words, ‘a sweetener’ dangled to persuade the sides to stop bombing each other’s refineries and to open the path for this ‘new’ initiative.

If Zelensky agrees to halt refinery attacks, “we’re back in, and we go to Moscow”, an American official told Ignatius.

In gist, the 4-point plan envisages a generous reconstruction framework to meet “Zelensky’s myriad cash needs”; security guarantees for Ukraine equivalent to NATO’s Article 5; the economic integration of Russia, Ukraine and Europe through an energy deal — “This might consist of a pipeline carrying Russian oil and gas to Europe with Ukraine and Russia splitting the profits. Such a pipeline could sharply reduce European energy costs”, a U.S. official said. In addition to providing Russia with “long-term access to the European energy market”, a peace deal would specify how and when existing economic sanctions on Russia would be removed.

The final point – wait for it — would be a ceasefire along the existing front line, or the ‘line of control’.

It seems extraordinary: The U.S. and Europeans negotiate amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the explicit statements issued by the Russian side.

Oil and gas would be supplied by Russia to the needy Europeans who voluntarily forsook their earlier cheap Russian supply, who are trapped by their own decisions and who denigrate Russia at every opportunity. And with the profits to be “split” with Ukraine? No way will Russia accept such a one-sided proposal.

FM Lavrov said at the UNGA no ceasefire under any format. That means that any negotiations would have to take place under fire, and Putin has suggested that even then, he would ‘think twice’ about starting any negotiations (whether under fire or not).

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed just last week that “piecemeal solutions and agreements” would prevent a comprehensive settlement from being reached; a “freeze” of the conflict would not help either —

“[Ukraine] is a highly complex matter, and the settlement must be comprehensive … We need a solution for future generations — one that is guaranteed and safeguarded against setbacks”.

It seems that the Europeans have not grasped that a Korean-style cessation of hostilities (as argued by General Kellogg) along a front where two militaries face each other is a recipe for precisely no solution. It has been 73 years since the Korean War was frozen by armistice. Nothing has changed.

The repeated return to this mantra of a ceasefire along line of contact, rather than solution first; ceasefire last, shouts out to the Russians that the West wants to keep Ukraine in the locker-room for the time when a platform from which to exert pressure (again) on Russia in the future is to be jacked-up.

The fatal flaw to this initiative is its cultural deafness. For Witkoff and Kushner it may be “all about the stuff that really matters – money” — but that is not the case for Russia.

If the Witkoff-Europe combo recalled Russian history, they would understand why, for Russia, security, security, security comes top.

Walter Munchau cautioned just this week that “the Ukraine war risks escalating” —

“We should be under no illusion about a war with Russia. We are absolutely not in a position to win. Whose bond markets are going to be blown up first? Who is going to run out of interceptor missiles first? … On every [count] — military, energy, finance — Europe is at a disadvantage. That’s not all. There is a relatively plausible scenario in which Ukraine and Iran merge into a single West Eurasian war — and become the ultimate proxy conflict between the U.S. and China”.

If, instead of putting continued ‘stakeholder’ grift first, with its mechanism to ensure “that the western opportunity for financial benefit continues”, the Witkoff-Europe combo chose rather to address the fundamentals to the conflict — the deeper question of a Eurasian security architecture; the definition of where exactly the frontier that separates NATO security interests from those of Sino-Russian interests physically lies — they might find a more receptive audience on their next trip to Moscow.

Alas, circumscribing NATO’s extent is not possible – as things stand.