If there is one universal location that is unequivocally deemed unsafe, it is the Internet. Ironically, it’s also the one place that most of us spend most of our time in. So it makes sense that the conmen of the world are stalking the World Wide Web looking for their next victim to strike. We’ve all heard about phishing, vishing, identity theft, and every other kind of cybercrime there is to commit. People are out there looking to steal your personal information, your bank accounts, your credit card numbers and your identities. And now, with the advent of social networking sites, their job has been made much simpler.
If you’re wondering how, let me explain. When we sign up for membership in social networking sites, we put up a whole lot of information for the world to see. Yes, there are privacy filters that you can set so that only your friends see information relevant to you, but there is still some information that is accessible to anyone on the Internet. For example, consider this scenario – you’re on Facebook and you have a set of friends. Now most people can see the people you’re friends with, and if your friends have not enabled their privacy options, well, they are generally jeopardizing your safety as well.
Still not clear? Let me explain further. Now, if a friend of yours has put up a photograph of the two of you (and others maybe) on his/her page, and he/she has not protected their profile, then anyone can copy this picture and manipulate it using any of the numerous photo editors that are available on the market. What’s more dangerous, if you have left a message on your friend’s wall, it’s there in plain sight for all to see, and because of this, people can track your moves and know what you are up to if you are not careful about what you say.
The worst part however, is to provide personal information, details that could allow people to hack into your email and your bank accounts. If you have set password prompt questions that have answers that can be found on your social networking profile page, then you’re definitely in danger of being the victim of a cybercrime.
All you need to do to stay safe from cybercriminals is to set passwords and questions that do not have obvious or clear answers that can be taken off your profile page, urge your friends not to put up pictures unless they remain private, and most important of all, know how much and how little you need to reveal when you’re putting stuff on the Internet!