Data brokers typically hold thousands of data points on each individual, spanning eight major categories: identifying information, family and relationships, financial data, professional details, legal records, lifestyle and interests, health indicators, and online behavior. SpyCloud’s 2025 Identity Exposure Report documented over 53 billion unique identity records in circulation — a number that grows with every data breach and broker refresh cycle.
Basic Identifying Information
Full name (including maiden names and aliases), date of birth, Social Security Number (in some databases), current and historical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. This is the foundation of every broker profile — and the data most commonly exploited in identity theft. The FTC’s 2024 fraud data showed that basic identifiers like name-and-address combinations were enough for criminals to open fraudulent accounts — contributing to over a million identity theft reports that year.
Family and Relationships
Spouse or partner information, children’s names and ages, parents and siblings, relatives’ contact information, and relationship status history. This data doesn’t just expose you — it exposes everyone connected to you. Family data enables scammers to craft convincing impersonation calls (“Hi, this is about your son’s account…”) and makes doxxing exponentially more dangerous.
Financial Information
Estimated income, home value and mortgage information, property ownership history, vehicle ownership, credit behavior indicators, bankruptcy and foreclosure records, and tax liens. Data brokers infer much of this from public records and algorithmic modeling — meaning the financial profile attached to your name may not even be accurate, yet it influences decisions made about you.
Professional Information
Current and past employers, job titles, professional licenses, business ownership, educational background, and LinkedIn profile data. Employers, recruiters, and screening services purchase this data to make hiring decisions — sometimes based on outdated or incorrect records.
Legal Records
Criminal records, court cases, traffic violations, divorce and marriage records, restraining orders, and bankruptcy filings. Even expunged or sealed records sometimes persist in data broker databases because brokers scraped the data before the court order took effect. B2B brokers like LexisNexis specialize in legal and court record aggregation — and because they’re FCRA-regulated, their data directly influences credit, employment, and insurance decisions. Consumer-facing people search sites make much of this same information freely searchable by anyone.
Lifestyle and Interests
Hobbies, political affiliation and donation history, charitable giving, magazine subscriptions, social media activity, and purchase history. This category powers targeted advertising and political micro-targeting. It’s also the data most often used for price discrimination — showing you different prices based on your inferred interests and spending patterns.
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Health Indicators
Prescription drug purchases, medical conditions (inferred from purchases), health insurance information, fitness app data, and dietary preferences. According to Grand View Research, health data brokerage is the fastest-growing segment in the data broker market through 2033. This data is not protected by HIPAA when collected outside of healthcare providers — meaning your pharmacy loyalty card purchases are fair game.
Online Behavior
Websites visited, search history, social media connections, app usage, device information, and location history. Your digital behavior data is harvested continuously through third-party tracking scripts, cookies, and app permissions. Combined with your identifying information, it creates a near-complete picture of your daily life.
The data that data brokers collect isn’t just a list of facts — it’s a comprehensive dossier revealing intimate details about your life, finances, relationships, and vulnerabilities.
RemoveMe finds where your data is exposed across the sites that matter most and removes it on your behalf — with continuous monitoring to catch re-listings. [Start your free RemoveMe scan →]
→ How Do Data Brokers Get Your Information?
→ Why Are Data Brokers Dangerous?
→ The Difference Between Data Brokers and People Search Sites
FAQ
What is the most sensitive information data brokers have? Health indicators, financial estimates, and Social Security Numbers (in some databases) carry the highest risk. Health data collected outside of healthcare providers has almost no federal protection, and financial profiles directly influence credit, insurance, and employment decisions — often without your knowledge.
Do data brokers have my Social Security Number? Some databases include full or partial SSNs, particularly B2B brokers like LexisNexis that aggregate credit and legal records. Consumer-facing people search sites typically don’t display SSNs publicly, but the underlying data may still exist in their systems.
