Americans - do you check your data broker profiles?

"The facts the FTC collected were pretty mind boggling—one data broker it looked at had 3,000 pieces of data on nearly every U.S. consumer
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Data brokers gather up or buy bits of information about us: public records, online purchases, social media posts, trips to the drug store.
. . .
She says data brokers use the information to slot us into categories, which they sell to marketers. "The level of specificity and detail are mind-boggling. They have 'Urban Scramble', which is a category referring to low income and minority consumers; they have 'Thrifty Elders'; they have 'Diabetes Interest'; 'Bible Lifestyle'... 'Biker Lifestyle'."

This information is used in all kinds of ways--to show us ads for things we're likely to be interested in and to set insurance premiums and interest rates. Good luck getting life insurance if you fall into the 'Biker Lifestyle' category," says Rich."

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"Bizo lets the 190 million businesspeople it profiles see the data it’s collected on them and gives them the choice of opting up. Glass says fewer than 1 percent of the people who look at their profiles opt out. He says the rest want the convenience and the tailored marketing that comes with a data profile.

If you want to see your Bizo profile, check it out right [link for website]."
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/ask-money/data-brokers-set-price-tag-your-head