Abine

Data brokers collect and store personal information on nearly every U.S. consumer. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that a single data broker company has information on 1.4 billion consumer transactions, totaling over 700 billion data points and 3,000 data segments for nearly every American consumer. But what information are data brokers collecting? You’ve likely heard of companies collecting personal information such as name, address, age, and e-mail. You may also have heard about data brokers collecting information on voting registration, purchasing history, criminal records, or vehicle registration. However, data brokers can go much further than this. They also collect information on “life-event triggers,” including marriage, divorce, births, deaths, and even buying a home. They also collect salary information, paystub data, and charitable donations. This information is then sold to companies and marketing agencies to help them target their