Social Media Sharing: Things You Shouldn’t Be Doing
We are entrenched in the world of social media; there are a horde of social networks that exist these days and are all platforms for sharing whatever information you want. It has become the norm for people to use several of these networks for sharing moments of their lives, exciting adventures and trips, their opinions and even photos of a night out with friends. However, there are certain things that should never be shared over the internet because there is a risk of serious consequences. For instance, posting what you think about your boss can be a risk as there is a possibility that it might be made public and you are going to end up fired.
The problem is that a large number of people share information over social media without realizing that some morsels can be used against them. There are numerous cyber criminals out there who can make use of this information to your own detriment. So, the question is what shouldn’t you do if you want to keep yourself safe from the risks of social media sharing? Here are some tips that can be helpful:
Geolocation Tags
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now Snapchat has joined the list of social networks that allow users to reveal their location data through posts. Sometimes, the location listed can be your exact address rather than just the city name. Since a lot of social media information is available publicly, it doesn’t take long for someone with the necessary expertise to match your Instagram pictures or even your Tweets to your exact home address and then use it for exploiting you in one way or another.
Posting Pictures of Personal or Financial Data
This seems rather obvious, but a quick study will show you that people are unable to resist showing off their new credit card, driver’s license or even an old bill they have managed to pay off. The problem is that in their excitement, they forget that they are inadvertently revealing their account number, name and address that can be used by criminals. In essence, you provide someone with easy access to your private information that can be used for finding a way to enter your accounts thereby disrupting your life.
Opening your car and home to strangers
There are websites such as Airbnb and Lyft that encourage everyone to use their existing physical assets like rooms, cars or even conveniently located bathrooms for making money. However, these websites can engender a false sense of security about having strangers in your personal space or around your stuff such as car insurance information or registration details, mail, medical information in your prescription cabinets or even financial information. If you are opening your home or other assets to strangers, it is best to ensure you have removed any remnants of your own details that could make you a target for identity theft.
Doing check-ins everywhere
Usually, people post a check-in on social networks because they are excited to be somewhere and wish to share it with their friends and family. But, you don’t realize that you are actually letting people know that you are not home. Those who have your exact address will know how far you are from home and can use this information to their advantage. Moreover, some check-ins can also provide thieves with potential sources of information such as the bank you visit or the gym you go to and these sources can be used to obtain further data about you that can be used negatively.
Posting your birthday
When you are making an account on any social network, you simply enter your correct birthdate and don’t even give it a second thought. When it does arrive, you receive wishes from friends and family all around the world and it is definitely a great feeling. But, have you ever thought that this exact date is used for authentication in various procedures? Even your bank uses this information in their verification process and you are simply providing cyber-criminals with more data they can use for taking advantage of you. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep your birthday off the networks or not use it anywhere for authentication and verification if you cannot stop it from being public.
No matter how hard you try, there is still a possibility that you end up victims of phishing, identity theft or some other scam. If you wish to avoid such situations, it is a good idea to use social media networks like SecureTribe. This is a modern take on social media that has been designed for providing people with complete security and keeps their personal information and other posts encrypted. Information can only be viewed by authorized individuals and others will not be able to find it, which promotes safe social media sharing.
