Social Media is for Idiots
By Tracy Enright
Oops, that’s a bit confrontational. The truth is social media is NOT for idiots, but it does have subtle ways of making you do idiotic things, like releasing personal information, no matter how careful you are. This is a bit scary when you realise that your identity can be stolen with just three pieces of information — your name, your date of birth and your address.
And just how does this happen? Let me take you through a short tour of some of the sneaky ways unscrupulous users of social media can get you to share enough information for them to steal your identity or access your bank accounts.
When were you born?
If you’re like me, you’re a bit cagey about releasing your full date of birth, but you might just have done so without realising. Ever had those lovely birthday messages? Social media like Facebook will send a message to your friends reminding them to wish you happy birthday today. If you’re unlucky, they’ll tell the whole world how old you are. Hey presto — date of birth. Even something as innocuous as those superhero name generators that always ask you to put your answer in the comments can entice you to add extra detail to the mass of information about you that is already floating in cyberspace.
What’s your name?
Many people use their own names on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but even if you don’t, there are other ways to work out your name. Ever seen those fun quizzes that go around where you can work out your dragon name using the first or last three letters of your first and last names? Or perhaps you’ve been asked what your name would be without vowels? It doesn’t take a genius to work out who Adm, Srh or Nck are. Some will ask you to use your mother’s maiden name and first pet (porn star name anyone?) — a favourite identity check question for banks. They all ask you to put your answers in the comments of course. And there the information sits until someone picks it up (or rather their programme does) and puts the pieces together.
First school/last school/date of graduation?
Part of the attraction of Facebook and similar platforms is the chance to catch up with old friends who share a common bond, the same school or workplace. Add this to your profile details and the data is there to build a more complete CV. Your CV. Have the wrong privacy settings and they can add extra information about your hobbies and likes and dislikes to be really convincing. It’s feasible that a competent data miner can know more about you than your current partner.
What’s your address?
Your address can’t always be gleaned directly from social media — few people will post their address for all to see, but how about checking in “at home”? Even a general idea of where you live, combined with a quick check of the voter’s register, will tell someone where you live. Talking of home, it’s not a great idea to tell everyone how wonderful your holiday is, how long you’ve been waiting at the airport or when your return flight is. Add in a few selfies showing the inside of your home and you’ve not only set up a shop front, you’ve advertised the opening hours to a tech-savvy burglar.
How can you protect yourself?
Having your identity stolen is a nightmare; you can end up with debts against your name that you know nothing about and it can affect your credit score, making it hard to get loans or even a new mobile phone. Don’t fret — there are ways you can keep yourself safe.
Passwords
Make your passwords harder to crack by moving away from words you might find in the dictionary. One tip is to use the first letter of each word in a sentence that means something to you with a number, symbol and a capital thrown in for good measure. Don’t forget to change them regularly.
Downloading Apps
Avoid apps that use your social media profile and ALWAYS check what access the app needs. Some apps want access to your phone, your location (another way to pinpoint your address) and your contacts. Ask yourself if they really need that information to function — an app that shows your nearest blood donation session could reasonably be expected to need to know your location, but why would a photo filter?
So Many Friends
If you don’t know someone who wants to be your friend, ask yourself if you really want them on your friends list. Whilst it may be tempting to amass as many friends as you can to show how popular you are (which you’ll know from your real life contacts anyway), it can be impossible to tell who’s behind that cute profile picture — criminal, bot, stalker or someone who’s just plain nosy.
Googling Yourself is Not Narcissism
Searching your name, twitter handle or Instagram name is a quick and easy way to see if someone else is pretending to be you online. You can set up an automatic notification (check out Google alert) that will email you, so you don’t have to remember to do it.
Social media can be so many things to so many people — fun, a way to feel connected, a source of support in difficult times, a way to find out about what’s happening in the world, or a way to make your voice heard in debates about important issues. A few simple precautions and a little thought can help make sure that others hear your voice, not someone pretending to be you.
Now, if you could just let me have your name and date of birth…?
With thanks to Justine Salles.
