Credit Business

Most of us use social networks to keep in touch with our friends and family, and many of us have noticed that there are an increasing number of advertisements being shown to us that match our preferences and social network browsing history. This sort of targeting is the result of how you interact on these hubs and subsequently, advertisers on the network being able to create ad campaigns that target select individuals. But did you know that your credit card company is doing the same thing?

It turns out that both MasterCard and American Express have been selling your consumer data to other companies for advertising purposes.

In a report released by Advertising Age, several pieces of information have been brought to light. Among them: MasterCard has been selling consumer purchasing histories for nearly three years now, while American Express also has been offering sets of data to select advertisers.

Before you ask: no, they are not leaking specific information about you individually. No names or addresses are included in this information. What is released, however, are the aggregate consumer habits of a particular ZIP code or city. So for instance, an advertiser may wish to see which ZIP codes in the US have the highest percentage of multivitamins. They can purchase this set of data from one of the card companies and then use that data to aim advertisements at that particular audience