Remove your data to protect your retirement from scammers

At a glance

Criminals often target retirement accounts because they hold large balances and are monitored less frequently.
Scammers frequently gather personal information from data broker sites to create convincing fraud attempts.
Removing your personal information online can reduce scam attempts and make fraud schemes less believable.
Automated data removal services can help erase your information from hundreds of data broker databases.

You’ve spent decades building your retirement fund. Now it’s time to enjoy it, not lie awake worrying about scammers or identity thieves. Unfortunately, criminals are more aggressive than ever, and they know your personal information unlocks access to your money.

Fortunately, you can take simple steps to remove your personal data from risky websites and databases. As a result, you greatly reduce the chance of fraud and protect your hard-earned savings from scammers. Even better, when you take control of your information today, you help keep your money secure and your retirement firmly in your hands.

Why do criminals target retirement accounts?

Retirement accounts are a goldmine for criminals. Here’s why:

They’re large. A lifetime of savings can add up to six or seven figures.
They’re less monitored. Unlike checking accounts, you may only review them a few times a year.
They’re easy to access remotely. Scammers don’t need your wallet-just enough personal details to pretend to be you.

Elder fraud caused more than $4.9 billion in losses in 2024. In 72% of cases, scammers found victims’ personal data online. Most of these crimes were tied to identity theft, allowing criminals to access accounts, redirect benefits, or launch phishing attacks.

A woman enjoying her retirement

You have an online profile even without social media

You don’t have to be on Facebook to have your information online. Data brokers, companies you may have never heard of, collect and sell personal details about nearly every adult in the U.S. These profiles may include:

Age and date of birth
Home address and property value
Marital status and family details
Income range and investments
Retirement status

For scammers, this information is like a treasure map.

How criminals abuse your data

When scammers know your age, address, and that you’re retired, they can craft scams that feel frighteningly real. Some examples are:

Fake financial advisor calls: Claiming to represent your bank or retirement plan provider, they already know your full name, your investment type, and even the city you live in.
“Pre-approved” retirement loan or annuity offers: Complete with official-sounding terms and personal details to make them seem legitimate.
Social engineering scams: Using information about your family or recent life events (like selling a home) to build trust before asking for account details.

The more accurate the personal data they have, the more convincing their story, and the higher the risk you’ll believe them.

Reduce the target on your back

Every piece of personal information you remove from public databases is one less tool scammers can use. Removing your data can:

Reduce the number of scam attempts
Limit how convincing those scams seem
Prevent your details from being resold repeatedly

Think of it as changing the locks on your home before a break-in happens.

Remove your data manually

You can contact data brokers and request that they delete your profile. To start, search your name online, find the sites listing your data, and follow each site’s removal process. However, there’s a catch:

There are hundreds of these companies
Each has a different process, often requiring ID copies or mailed letters
Many will repost your data within months unless you check back regularly

It’s a time-consuming job that most people eventually abandon.

Use an automated data removal service

A data removal tool handles the work for you. It:

Contacts hundreds of data brokers on your behalf
Tracks each request and follow-up to ensure deletion
Monitors continuously to keep your data off the lists

A service like Incogni can help you remove all this personal information from the internet. It has a very clean interface and will scan 420+ websites for your information and remove it and keep it removed. Plus Incogni has received third-party assurance from Deloitte validating its entire data removal process.

The longer you wait, the more data brokers spread your personal information online. I recommend Incogni to help you remove that data automatically (and they make sure it stays removed) without any effort on your part.

Exclusive Deal for CyberGuy Readers (60% off): Incogni offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and then charges a special CyberGuy discount for all annual plans only through the links in this article for as low as $6.39/month for one person (billed annually) or $13.19/month for your family (up to 5 people) on their annual plan. This fully automated data removal service provides ongoing protection from 420+ data brokers, and if you choose the Unlimited plan, you can also request removals from specific sites where your personal information appears.

I recommend the family plan because it works out to only $2.64 per person per month (or $4.80 per person per month if you get the Family Unlimited plan) for powerful year-round privacy protection. It’s an excellent service, and well worth trying to see how much of your information is being exposed and how effectively it can be removed.

Get Incogni here

Get Incogni for your family (up to 5 people) here

Is your personal information exposed online?

Run a free scan to see if your personal info is compromised. Results arrive by email in about an hour.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

You worked too hard to let criminals take what you built. Yet scammers constantly search for personal data they can exploit. When your information appears in public databases, it gives them an easy starting point. However, you can take back control. Start by reducing your digital footprint and removing your personal data from risky data broker sites. As a result, scammers have fewer details to build convincing attacks. Most importantly, every step you take strengthens your financial security. Over time, these small actions help protect both your savings and your peace of mind. In the end, your retirement should stay exactly where it belongs: in your hands.

Have you ever been targeted by a scam? If so, how did you handle it, and what advice would you give others? Let us know in the comments below.

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This article was created in partnership with Incogni