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Wired investigation traces misdirected Democratic fundraising texts to data broker Sterling Data Company's donor-list rentals

1 fonte(s) · 1 atualização(ões) · publicado 02/11/2026 08:00 · coletado há 1 hora

A Wired reporter received 725 political fundraising texts in 2026, nearly all intended for a relative with a similar donor profile but a different name, number, and bank account. Opt-out replies (49 "STOP" messages since 2021) were repeatedly ignored by campaigns including the DCCC, DSCC, and Jon Ossoff's campaign. Tracking codes in ActBlue links frequently referenced Sterling Data Company, an AI-driven firm that rents donor lists, and FEC filings show payments from the DSCC and a Biden joint fundraising committee that coincide with Sterling-tagged texts.

Detalhes técnicos

  • Message links redirected through several hops to ActBlue, carrying tracking strings such as acq_sms.p2p_fr_2026.10.13_b1_dccc_rent_4mtch_st (acquisition, peer-to-peer, rented list).
  • Nearly half of the 725 texts carried codes apparently referencing Sterling (e.g. STL2, strl2b, "tier1").
  • Sterling reportedly holds a database of about 30 million donors, assembled largely from other data brokers (Forbes, 2022).
  • Sterling CEO Martin Kurucz confirmed the company handles texting itself and can rent the same record to multiple campaigns. He did not confirm or deny responsibility for the misdirected texts.
  • The root cause of the identity mix-up was not established. The article notes the strategy resembles scam-style mass messaging.

Remediação

  • Sterling's CEO advises not replying at all. The author reports that replying STOP often fails.
  • Two people reportedly obtained settlements from Democratic organizations over misdirected texts.

Linha do tempo

  1. wired.com ↗ · pub. 02/11/2026 08:00 · coletado 02/11 10:01 primeiro registro

    Wired investigation traces misdirected Democratic fundraising texts to data broker Sterling Data Company's donor-list rentals

    ler a análise desta fonte

    A Wired reporter received 725 political fundraising texts in 2026, nearly all intended for a relative with a similar donor profile but a different name, number, and bank account. Opt-out replies (49 "STOP" messages since 2021) were repeatedly ignored by campaigns including the DCCC, DSCC, and Jon Ossoff's campaign. Tracking codes in ActBlue links frequently referenced Sterling Data Company, an AI-driven firm that rents donor lists, and FEC filings show payments from the DSCC and a Biden joint fundraising committee that coincide with Sterling-tagged texts.

    Technical Details

    • Message links redirected through several hops to ActBlue, carrying tracking strings such as acq_sms.p2p_fr_2026.10.13_b1_dccc_rent_4mtch_st (acquisition, peer-to-peer, rented list).
    • Nearly half of the 725 texts carried codes apparently referencing Sterling (e.g. STL2, strl2b, "tier1").
    • Sterling reportedly holds a database of about 30 million donors, assembled largely from other data brokers (Forbes, 2022).
    • Sterling CEO Martin Kurucz confirmed the company handles texting itself and can rent the same record to multiple campaigns. He did not confirm or deny responsibility for the misdirected texts.
    • The root cause of the identity mix-up was not established. The article notes the strategy resembles scam-style mass messaging.

    Remediation

    • Sterling's CEO advises not replying at all. The author reports that replying STOP often fails.
    • Two people reportedly obtained settlements from Democratic organizations over misdirected texts.