Social media

Everyone uses social media. Sharing your photos, events, location, and information on social networks can feel like a lively conversation among friends, family, and colleagues. That’s what makes it so useful—and fun!

Unfortunately, scammers and cyber criminals also use social networks to gather personal information, which helps them steal identities, compromise accounts, or send highly targeted phishing emails.

If you have ever completed a “fun” Facebook survey or posted answers to questions about your first pet’s name or the street you live in, you may have shared something about yourself that hackers can use to access your account. When you share something online, you lose control over how it might be used, and anyone can see it.

The good news is that you can use social media safely using common sense and knowing what to look for.

How to use social media safely

• Think before you share! Set limits on the amount of information you share and the number of people you share it with.
• Trust your connections - Make sure you know and trust connections before sharing information or agreeing to meet them in person.
• Think about what you share – If you can’t imagine your post as front-page news for all the world to see, don’t post it.
• Review your security settings regularly - use privacy controls and be aware that scammers can still bypass these settings, and social media platforms often change settings and permissions.
• Protect your login credentials – Use strong authentication methods for each account. If the social network requires security questions, consider using fake answers that don’t match anything you’ve posted. It’s easy for a scammer to find out your mother’s maiden name or the names of your schools, pets, and childhood friends.
• Don’t reuse passwords – if you use the same password across social media platforms and a cybercriminal hacks into one of your accounts, they can get into all of them.
• Use caution with third-party apps – Logging into an app with your social network account gives that app some level of access to your information and connections. Carefully examine and verify all third-party apps and avoid the temptation to fill in a quiz or survey, no matter how many of your contacts have shared or tagged you. Using fewer apps also helps reduce your risk.

Identity Theft/Impersonation

Watch out for imposters – Accepting a stranger’s connection request can give cybercriminals access to your profile. Scammers might also create fake profiles to impersonate you or people familiar to you.

Don’t accept unusual friend requests – even if they are from those you are already connected with - check first before accepting. Warn your friend immediately.

If your profile has been cloned - your friends will receive “friend” requests from you even though they are already connected; this is a sign that your profile has been cloned.

Scammers use fake profiles to get information from your friends. If this happens to you, immediately inform your contacts, change your password, and report the fake profile to social media platforms.