Why January is the best time to delete personal data online

January feels like a reset. A new calendar. New goals. New habits. However, while you’re cleaning out your inbox, organizing paperwork, or setting resolutions, scammers also hit reset and start with your personal data.

This is because January is one of the most important months for online privacy. This is when data brokers update profiles and scammers rebuild their target lists.

As a result, the longer your information remains online, the more complete and valuable your profile will be. To help address this, institutions such as the US Treasury Department have issued advisories urging people to remain vigilant and avoid data scams.

For that reason, taking action early in the year can significantly reduce scam attempts, reduce the risks of identity theft, and limit unwanted exposure for the rest of the year.

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STOP DATA BROKERS FROM SELLING YOUR INFORMATION ONLINE

Why personal data does not expire and continues to accumulate online

Many people assume that old information eventually becomes useless. Unfortunately, that’s not how data brokers work.

Data brokers Don’t just store a snapshot of who you are today. They create living profiles that grow over time, based on:

• Public records (property sales, court filings, voter registrations)
• Retail purchases and loyalty programs
• Application use and location data
• Paddresses, telephone numbers, and relatives
• Marketing databases and online activity.

Every year another layer is added. A new direction. A changed phone number. A family connection. A milestone in retirement. By itself, one piece of information doesn’t mean much. But together they create a detailed identity profile that scammers can use to convincingly impersonate you. That’s why waiting makes things worse, not better.

Why scammers ‘rebuild’ their targets at the beginning of the year

Scammers don’t target people at random. They work from lists. At the beginning of the year, these lists are updated.

Why January is so important:

• Data brokers update and resell profiles after year-end registration closes
• You can search for new public presentations from the previous year
• Marketing databases reset campaigns and audience segments
• Fraudulent networks repackage data into “new” target lists.

Think of it like the next spring cleaning, except criminals organize identities to exploit over the next 12 months.

If your data is still widely exposed in January, it’s much more likely that:

• Get more fraudulent calls and texts
• Receive realistic phishing emails
• be objective with phishing scams
• Silently Have Your Identity Scrutinized for Financial Fraud

Once your profile is marked as responsive or profitable, it often remains in circulation.

Why acting in January protects you all year round

Deleting your data early isn’t just about stopping scams today; it’s about cutting off the supply chain that feeds them. When your information is removed from data brokers’ databases:

• It’s harder for scammers to find accurate contact details
• Phishing messages become less convincing
• Phishing Attempts Fail More Often
• Your identity becomes less valuable to resell.

This has a compounding benefit in the opposite direction. The fewer lists you appear in January, the fewer times your data will be reused, resold, and recycled during the year. That’s why I consistently recommend addressing data exposure before problems start, not after.

Why retirees and families feel the impact first

January is especially important for retirees and families because they are more likely to become targets of fraud, scams and other crimes.

Retirees usually have:

• Long addresses and work histories
• Stable credit profiles
• Fewer active credit applications
• Public retirement and property records.

Families add another layer of risk:

• Family members are linked to each other in runner profiles
• An exposed family member can expose others
• Shared addresses and phone plans increase visibility

Scammers know this. That’s why at the beginning of the year, priority is given to households with established financial records.

Why quick fixes don’t work

Many people try to “start over” in January by doing the following:

• Delete cookies
• Unsubscribe from emails
• Change passwords
• Sign up for credit monitoring.

Those steps help, but they do not remove your data from brokers’ databases. Credit monitoring services alert you when something goes wrong. Password changes do not affect public profiles. And unsubscribing doesn’t stop data reselling. If your personal information is still in hundreds of databases, scammers can find it.

The January Privacy Reset That Really Works

If you want fewer scam attempts for the rest of the year, the most effective step is to delete your personal data at the source.

You can do this in two ways. You can submit deletion requests yourself or you can use a professional data deletion service to handle the process for you.

Deleting your data yourself

Manually deleting your data means identifying dozens or even hundreds of data broker websites, finding their opt-out forms, and submitting deletion requests one by one. You should also verify your identity, track responses, and repeat the process each time your information appears again.

This approach works, but it requires time, organization, and ongoing monitoring.

Use a data removal service

A data removal service handles this process on your behalf. These services typically:

• Submit legal data deletion requests to large data broker networks
• Monitor reposted information and send follow-up deletions
• Continue tracking your exposure throughout the year
• Manage a process that most people cannot maintain on their own.

Because these services handle sensitive personal information, it is important to choose one that follows strict security standards and uses verified deletion methods.

While no service can guarantee complete removal of your data from the Internet, a data erasure service is truly a smart choice. They are not cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically deleting your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to delete your personal data from the Internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing leak data with information they can find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

RETIREES LOSE MILLIONS FROM FAKE HOLIDAY FUNCTIONS AS SCAMMERS EXPLOIT SEASONAL GENEROSITY

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already available on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already available on the web: Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s Key Takeaways

Scammers don’t wait to make mistakes. They expect exposed data. January is when profiles are updated, rosters are rebuilt, and goals for the next year are chosen. The longer your personal information remains online, the more complete (and dangerous) your digital profile becomes. The good news? You can stop the cycle. Deleting your data now reduces scam attempts, protects your identity, and gives you a calmer, safer year. If you’re going to take a privacy step this year, do it early and make it count.

Have you ever been surprised to learn how much personal information was already online? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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