Don't give the public--and the thieves hiding in it--detailed information about you.
Even simple things like posting your full name and address can make it that much easier for ne'er-do-wells to find you or steal your identity. Stay safe by keeping your identity and location private.
Keep your photos private!
A picture is worth a thousand words--and what your pictures spell out includes your age, your home, your friends, family and more. Thieves can, and will, use information from pictures to customize scams targeting you, break into your house, even identify and threaten your loved ones
Don't brag about your new iPhone 4.
Sharing information about your valuables on blogs and social networks lets thieves know who to target. But it's less likely robbers will break into your home if they don't think there's anything worth stealing inside. So keep information about your possessions private.
Think carefully before friending someone.
Keep in mind that theft is often carried out by someone you know. True, organized crime rings do a lot of damage, but many people are targeted for robberies and ID theft by people with whom they're acquainted. Remember that when you friend someone on Facebook, you may be letting them see private information they can use against you.
Don't broadcast your vacation schedule.
Don't tell everyone on the social network you're going to be away on vacation for two weeks! You're only saving thieves time and gas looking for empty, unguarded homes to rob. Keep information about your travel and daily schedule--from island getaways to sports practice--private.
Ditch the obvious or easy password.
Strong passwords really are your best friends. Cybercriminals aren't going to waste their time trying to hack your account when they can find hundreds of others with easier-to-break passwords. Make it hard for thieves, and you'll send them packing.
Be careful about leaving information on bridal and baby shower registries.
Thieves browse these to find out what gifts have been ordered for you, and when they'll arrive. Gifts requests also let people know about your economic status, and if you having anything worth stealing. Blog postings on registries often contain information about when you'll be away on honeymoon or at the hospital. Memorial sites are a risk, too. Make sure the sites you use let you set privacy boundaries.
Guard your emotions.
Thieves pretend to share your joy or offer a shoulder to cry on, playing on your passions to trick you into sharing personal information. If you mention you've got money problems, scammers send a get-rich-quick scheme. People who want to romance you might be building your trust to break it. Life's a poker game, and the more you show your hand, the easier it is for someone to hijack your identity or drain your account.
Mind your credit report.
It's free to get a report on your credit, and it only takes a phone call to freeze it so that someone can't take out credit in your name. Remember, the longer you go without monitoring your credit situation, the worse damage an identity thief can do.
Take your time.
Thieves prefer victims that act impulsively, without thinking. When a pop-up tells you your computer is infected, scammers want you to download their malware-ridden "anti-virus" software. Criminals hope you'll click on their "save money" and "lottery winnings" offers without pausing long enough to realize it's an obvious lure. Think things through, do a little fact checking. You'll avoid spyware and malicious links and keep your personal information safe.
Social Networks
Worst Facebook Posting Gaffes
Kerry A. Dolan with Paul Jones, 11.05.10, 01:30 PM EDTWhat not to post: vacation dates. What not to do: friend complete strangers. Here's why.
It didn't take Janet Smith long to accept a Facebook friend request from a total stranger. Smith, 18, (not her real name) doesn't normally make friends with strangers, but this stranger seemed to share things in common. Amber Moore said she had just moved to Marin County (north of San Francisco)--where Smith lives--and would, like Smith, soon be a freshman at the University of California at Santa Barbara. (Smith had added UCSB to her networks on her Facebook page.)
"I'm a nice person, so I told her I'd show her around," recalls Smith. Soon the conversation moved from Facebook messaging to texting each other on their mobile phones. Moore invited Smith over to her house for margaritas and a hot tub; Smith says she thought that was strange for a first meeting. She went back and checked Moore's Facebook account and realized that all of Moore's friends were in California; none were from Texas, where Moore said she had been living. That seemed odd to Smith as well.
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The two girls made plans to meet several times, but Moore always had a last-minute excuse for not making it. Smith started to get suspicious. She called Moore, who didn't answer. She asked Moore to call her; Moore told Smith she "wasn't a phone person."
In Pictures: Worst Facebook Posting Gaffes
Smith told her parents about her suspicions and then paid $5 to a website to find out who owned the cellphone number. It turned out to be a man who lived in San Rafael, Calif., where Smith also lived. Then Smith and her parents spent $40 on a different website to do an even deeper search; it gave them the man's address, his age, how long he had been at the address and other information. "I immediately de-friended 'her' on Facebook," says Smith.
She and her parents went to the police to see what could be done, but no crime had been committed. It is not illegal to create a fake Facebook account. Smith said she had a really creepy feeling about some older guy masquerading as a college freshman girl.
Yes, you may have heard this before. But, says Linda Criddle, president of the Safe Internet Alliance, most of the advice about what not to do on Facebook "is falling on deaf ears. There's a disconnect between the advice and the actions."A couple days later, Amber Moore's Facebook account vanished completely. The lesson, says Smith: "I don't accept any friend requests from people I don't know." Facebookers, beware: You don't really know who you're friending when you say yes to strangers.
Criddle points out that at one time she had just 23 friends on LinkedIn. If you added the friends of her friends, the network was several thousand people. Adding the friends of those friends, she got to three-quarters of a million people. "Once you've shared something with any friends, it's in their power, not yours, how far it goes. These friends may have their sharing set to public," warns Criddle.
So remember, don't broadcast when you're going on vacation. Friends of friends have been known to burglarize homes. Don't boast about your new iPhone 4 or the cool new flat-screen TV you have--that can make you a target for theft. Don't post your address; if you do, thieves have a road map to your home or apartment. Keep all photos of family, friends and things you own private, so thieves don't have access to any more helpful details.
The safest thing to do is to put your privacy settings on the least public option possible--and still think twice before you friend strangers or post telling personal details.There are no records of how many thefts have been committed with the help of Facebook profiles or other social networking sites. Notes Criddle, "There's not a place on the police report for 'enabled by information found online.'" But police are increasingly aware of the problem, she says, and the FBI is also getting up to speed on Internet-enabled crime. The challenges: These are not topics that most officers learned about at the police academy, and as municipal budgets are cut across the U.S., fewer officers are having to do more work.
In Pictures: Worst Facebook Posting Gaffes
See Also:
How Facebook Will Own All Your Location Data
Keeping Kids Safe On CellphonesKeeping Kids Safe On Facebook
Reader Comments
Facebook helped me get in touch with people I lost contact with over the years. I move around a lot and it's hard to keep phone #'s and addresses up to date. So I only invite those that I am truely i [Read More]
Posted by Enyaface | 01/18/11 12:55 PM EST