Social media has just gotten too social. We take pictures of everything! And we share them. All of them.
There are pictures of our lunches, our toes, the dog taking a nap, menus, out of focus blobs that someone believes to be Bigfoot, what we’re drinking, and some of the astounding fashion choices we see at our local retail outlets. We post about our feelings, our loves and lost loves, our vacations, and funerals. And let’s not forget selfies. Everything is fair game for posting on social media.
Now is the time of year when kids of all ages are going back to school. Little Sally will be in Mr. Black’s 2ndgrade class at School of Rock Elementary in Austin, Texas. Little Sally is sharing a lot of information as she is captured standing in front of her house at 30412 Austin Lane with the off-to-school sign grasped in her hands and smiling at the IPhone.
Any activity or event is photographed. Anytime. Anywhere. That happens every day, all year. The idea of privacy is off the table. Anything can be the subject of a picture. The picture can tell someone where you are in pretty close approximation of real time. Pictures are downloaded NOW so anyone who can view your page knows where you are NOW.
Be aware of what you are doing in the post. It’s not just scammers that scan social media. A prospective job may be lost because of something that has been posted.
Scammers seeking people to use for Romance Rip Offs get a lot of information from posts as well as a lot of ‘vibes’. People post of their situations, their losses, their loneliness and it’s all fodder for the scammer.
Did you know that scammers analyze social media posts by ‘scraping’ or automatically extracting information? That allows them to target specific audiences.
Don’t forget that those videos and pictures can be used for deep fakes (fake voice and video used to deceive someone). Business scams can be initiated from information scraped from business sites such as Linkedin.
The Better Business Bureau offers cautions about the way scammers use social media platforms. Consider the social media outlets that you use. Think about the information you’re sharing. Think about the many things a scammer could learn: identifying information on the person (child, teen, young adult – anyone), pictures and maybe videos, information on activities and locations, and interests.
Social media offers scammers and predators opportunities to steal identities, extort money and assets, and possibly physically endanger others. People can be set up for robberies when they post about being away for vacations or funerals. Know what social media accounts you have. Learn about privacy settings on your social media accounts. Clean up your social media. (“How to Perform a Social Media Clean-Up: A 9-Step Cybersecurity Guide” from Norton offers consumers information for consumers.)
Stay safe!
Ann, The Scam Alert Lady!
