Somewhere in a marketing database, something you did years ago could still be helping a company decide what you might respond to next.
uncertain
you → do → what
Maybe you entered a sweepstakes or signed up for a business seminar.
asserted
you → enter → seminar
That kind of response can become valuable data.
asserted
kind → become → response
Federal court records show just how far that can go.
asserted
that → show → ?
In a case involving data broker Epsilon Data Management, employees had a name for people targeted by certain solicitations: "opportunity seekers."
asserted
employees → involve → solicitations
Those opportunity seeker lists became especially valuable when they reached people running fraud schemes.
asserted
they → become → schemes
And as you'll see, the idea of sorting people based on what they are likely to respond to has not disappeared.
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they → see → what
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you → get → doctor
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experience → need → ?
What opportunity seeker lists actually mean
"Opportunity seeker" sounds like harmless marketing jargon.
asserted
seeker → mean → jargon
But in the Epsilon case, the Department of Justice (DOJ) showed how that label was being used inside a business unit that worked with fraudulent clients.
asserted
that → show → clients
According to Epsilon's deferred prosecution agreement, the company's clients included businesses sending deceptive solicitations involving sweepstakes, astrology, auto warranties, dietary supplements and government grants.
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clients → accord → sweepstakes
Epsilon employees called the people targeted by those offers "opportunity seekers" and referred to the clients sending them as "opportunistic."
asserted
employees → call → them
The court filing also says those opportunity seekers frequently came from the same group: older and vulnerable Americans.
asserted
seekers → say → group
DOJ says Epsilon used transactional data and algorithms to identify "responsive buyers," or people most likely to respond to certain offers.
asserted
Epsilon → say → offers
Its database covered about 100 million U.S. households.
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database → cover → households
Think about what that means.
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that → think → what
If you responded to one offer, that response could become a signal that you might respond to another.
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you → respond → another
In the hands of a fraudster, that kind of information can make it much easier to decide who to target first.
asserted
it → make → who
This went far beyond one company
Epsilon eventually agreed to pay $150 million, including $22.5 million in criminal penalties and $127.5 million for victim compensation.
asserted
Epsilon → go → compensation
Two former Epsilon employees, Robert Reger and David Lytle, were later convicted.
asserted
employees → convict → ?
A federal judge sentenced Reger to 10 years in prison and Lytle to four years.
asserted
judge → sentence → years
According to the DOJ, they sold nearly 100 lists of names and addresses to one fraudulent client.
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they → accord → client
That client used the information in a scheme that defrauded more than 218,000 people out of more than $23.7 million.
asserted
that → use → million
Even more alarming, DOJ says more than 12,000 people were defrauded by that single scheme more than 20 times each.
asserted
people → say → scheme
Other cases followed.
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cases → follow → ?
KBM Group entered a deferred prosecution agreement requiring a $33.5 million victim compensation payment and an $8.5 million criminal fine.
asserted
Group → enter → payment
DOJ says employees sold data tied to millions of Americans to more than a dozen clients they knew were engaged in fraudulent mass-mailing schemes.
asserted
they → say → schemes
Macromark, a Connecticut direct-mail services company, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
asserted
Macromark → plead → fraud
The company admitted that lists it provided to fraudulent clients resulted in at least $9.5 million in losses.
asserted
it → admit → losses
Wiland Inc. later entered a non-prosecution agreement with DOJ that included $4.4 million in victim compensation over data sold to operators of fraudulent schemes.
asserted
that → enter → schemes
By June 2025, DOJ said its Consumer Data Victim Compensation Fund had returned more than $129 million to more than 100,000 victims across the country.
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Fund → say → country
A 2026 case shows this playbook is still alive
It would be easy to look at the earlier cases and think this was an old direct-mail problem.
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this → show → cases
In May 2026, a federal judge sentenced Troy Murray of North Carolina to 121 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
uncertain
he → sentence → fraud
DOJ says Murray collected and sold lists containing names, phone numbers, home addresses and, in some cases, ages and email addresses of older Americans.
asserted
Murray → say → Americans
His customers included people in Jamaica running lottery fraud schemes.
asserted
customers → include → schemes
From 2016 through 2023, DOJ says Murray sent scammers at least 22,000 lead lists containing information on more than 7 million older Americans.
asserted
Murray → say → Americans
Those lists typically sold for $500 for 100 to 300 names.
asserted
lists → sell → names
DOJ says Murray made more than $5.2 million while victims lost more than $9.5 million.
asserted
victims → say → million
That is what makes these lists so valuable to scammers.
asserted
lists → make → scammers
…and 81 more, not listed.
The Aporia
