A scammer doesn't need hacking skills. They just Google your name. Within minutes, they can find your address, employer, family members, and even property records.
First, they search your name. Google often returns LinkedIn, Facebook, local news mentions, real estate records, and people-search sites like Spokeo. This is all public information.
Next, they refine the search by adding your city or employer. They can find PDFs like HOA filings or nonprofit board minutes, building a detailed profile in under five minutes.
Then they use Google Images to find your photos and family members. A reverse image search can link your face to your daughter or elderly mother, giving scammers the details needed for an impersonation call.
The FBI reported over 72% of cybercrimes against seniors in 2024 were facilitated by publicly available personal data. The call to your 76-year-old mother is not random; it's targeted.
Even if you're careful online, data brokers pull information from voter registration, property tax filings, and court documents. Google indexes this, making it visible.
To protect yourself, search your name the way a scammer would. Change security question answers that are publicly available. Consider using a data removal service to clean up broker sites, but also add your family members to the service to protect them from targeted call schemes.