CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Americans are seeing an increase in the amount of time spent on social networking sites, and it could be putting their security at risk. Experts are urging people use caution while engaging in social activities, as scammers are scooping up personal information.
A new trend, predominantly on Facebook, is the sharing of a senior picture ‘in support of the Class of 2020’. Users will share their photo and provide details including graduation year and high school name. Some will even use a popular hashtag #classof2020 along with the post.
The Better Business Bureau warns against users sharing such details. Common security questions for banks and credit cards include questions related to high school, graduating classes, and high school mascots. By sharing these details on an open source, such as Facebook, users could be giving up valuable information to hackers.
This threat extends to many of the ‘favorite things’ style quizzes and personality games that exist on social media. Many times questions or prompts include such things as “favorite car” or “street you grew up on”. These types of quizzes should be entered into with caution, as the answers provided may be security questions for your protected accounts.
The Better Business Bureau issued the following guidance to online users:
Resist the temptation to play along. While it’s fun to see other’s posts, if you are uncomfortable participating, it is best to not do it.
Review your security settings. Check your security settings on all social media platforms to see what you are sharing and with whom you are sharing.
Change security questions/settings. If you are nervous about something you shared possibly opening you up to fraud, review and change your security settings for banking and other websites.