One of the major benefits of social media is that you can connect with friends and family both near and far. However, social media can also leave us vulnerable to identity theft and other risks. Cyber criminals are constantly looking for ways to steal our most precious information, and just think how much information we share on social networking platforms – many times, unknowingly.
With every tweet, post, check-in and share we’re revealing more information than we intend, and typically, securing our personal information is not top of mind.
Here’s some social media best practices to ensure your keeping your personal information safe:
- Use long and strong passwords that include a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters. Do not reuse login credentials across other online accounts. This will help keep your social accounts secure.
- Do not share personal information, like SSN, birthdate and home address, on social media. These pieces of information can be used for an identity theft event. Even seemingly innocuous information, like high school mascot or mother’s maiden name, can be used to access your online accounts – as these are common password reset questions.
- Check your privacy settings ever so often. Social platforms are constantly changing their privacy policies, which may impact the audience with which you’re sharing your posts, profile information and more. Stay up-to-date on security news related to social media platforms and privacy policies.
- Avoid sharing location details, like checking in at a restaurant or sharing your home address. This can alert criminals to your whereabouts. Also avoid posting photos or trip details while you are on vacation. This alerts criminals to when you are not at home.
- Utilize a social monitoring service that can alert you to instance where you may be sharing personal information. These services may also alert you to reputational risks on your social media platforms.
For more security best practices, stay tuned on our Blog and visit our Tips section for more information on how to help keep your identity secure.