Hold that thought!
Business
Permission or Theft?
By: Becky Sill Independent LegalShield Associate www. beckysill. com
We have all seen them. The“ let’ s get to know each other” post on social media where friends think they are innocently sharing information with“ friends”. The challenge is knowing who your friends really are. Do you know all of your friends on facebook ….. I mean, personally? The obvious answer is no. They are friends of friends who may have worked somewhere you did 6 years ago or has a common interest or hobby like horseback riding, cars, running, etc.. You get the idea. You really don’ t KNOW them.
Hold that thought!
These social media questionnaires are requesting personal identifiable information. Where were you born, what is your date of birth, your favorite pet, your first pets name, favorite vacation spot, childhood friend? Now, let’ s think about what types of privacy questions are asked when completing applications and setting up passwords. If I had to guess, I’ d say you have used at least one of these questions / answers as a password for protecting personal identifiable information. These are things we know and things we remember. It’ s easy.
Now, back to our original thought. Many have open privacy settings on social media which means anyone can see anything you post. Your seemingly innocent post revealing possible passwords and personal identifiable information is now visible not only to your friends, but to friends of friends, and identity thieves waiting for you to give them“ permission” to access your personal information. You have basically said,“ here’ s my password, I dare you”! So, be careful what you post on social media and what you use for passwords. Identity Thieves are very good at protecting their identity! Are you?