Criminals are increasingly using people’s dates of birth as part of coordinated fraud schemes, according to cybersecurity professionals and fraud investigators. When hackers breach retail websites and other online services, they obtain birthdates that customers have entered during account creation. These details are subsequently sold on dark web marketplaces and combined with other compromised information to build comprehensive identity profiles that fraudsters can weaponize.
Securityexperts explain that a birthdate alone holds limited value for criminals, but when paired with names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses obtained from multiple data breaches, it becomes a powerful tool for deception. Scammers use this enriched personal information to craft convincing phishing emails, impersonate victims to customer service representatives, or pose as legitimate financial institutions. The jigsaw approach—assembling fragments from various breaches and public sources—creates profiles detailed enough to manipulate both people and company systems.
Retailers frequently collect birthdates during sign-up processes to support marketing and age-targeting efforts, even though this information is not essential for conducting transactions. A recent survey found that eight of 14 retailers examined requested dates of birth. Security researchers note that retailers have limited incentive to eliminate these data collection practices despite the security risks they create for consumers.
Experts recommend that individuals avoid providing birthdates on non-essential platforms whenever possible. When a birthdate field cannot be left blank, using a false date consistently across different retailers or entering only the first day of one’s birth month can help reduce exposure. For maximum protection, consumers should maintain separate email addresses for online shopping, verify that anyone contacting them has legitimate reasons to possess personal information, and reserve accurate birthdates only for institutions that verify identity against official records, such as banks, tax agencies, and licensing authorities.
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