Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
Related Articles
Social Media is an integral part of life. It’s a way of connecting with other people and sharing content that you think they will like. It can also be an important tool for learning about new topics and places. There is nothing wrong with using social media. However, you do need to be careful about protecting your identity.
The number of people using social media is huge; around 2.65 billion people worldwide, according to Statista. Unfortunately, this makes it attractive to hackers and identity thieves. They are keen to obtain information that they can use to steal identities. So, what can you do keep your information out of the hands of these people and protect your identity.
Do not share personal information
It’s never a good idea for you to share personal information on social media. There are some people who have actually revealed their social security number or credit card details online. It may seem obvious that this is a bad idea but there is other information that may be a less obvious issue when it comes to revealing information on social media.
This information includes your date of birth and hometown. The more information that you reveal, the more likely it is that people will be able to use it to apply for identity papers such as a passport. Once they have these papers they can invade your life and make things very difficult for you.
Make use of privacy settings
Privacy settings on social media are there for a reason. You can make use of them to protect your account from hackers and people who want to steal your identity. It’s easy to adjust your privacy settings and it does not take long to use this important protective measure. You should make sure that only people you know can see the information that you post from your social media accounts.
If you face false accusation of identity theft, this can be really serious, you should seek advice from an identity theft lawyer. It’s best to do this as soon as possible because identity theft can have more of an impact on your life than you might think and problems can be difficult to resolve.
Do not ‘friend’ people who you do not know
Trying to stop identity theft from happening in the first place is always the best idea. An important way of doing this is to be careful about who you accept as a friend on social media.
You should only become social media friends with people that you actually know. If you receive friend requests that appear to be suspicious, you should block them and report them as spam.
Be careful about social media quizzes
Social media quizzes may seem like good fun but they can actually be more dangerous than you might think. When you take part in one of these quizzes, you may be asked for seemingly innocent information such as your favorite color or the name of your pet. If you think about this in more detail, you will realize that this information can be used to gain access to your financial accounts.
Social media quizzes can also contain links which are dangerous. Clicking on one of these links can allow hackers to gain access to your information.
Use identity protection
In addition to doing all that you can to project your identity on social media, you should invest in identity protection. There are several excellent identity protection solutions that you can choose.
Doing so means that you can monitor your bank accounts and credit cards for suspicious activity. You can also get help with recovery services if your identity is stolen. This is important as dealing with identity theft issues is often a complicated process.
Social media allows people to be creative and it facilitates contact and communication. This means that using social media can be a positive experience. However, it’s important to never become complacent about protecting your identity while you are using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you are not careful, you can end up having to deal with identity theft issues that are complicated to resolve.
