Sharing information online like your vacation plans and relationship status can make you a target for scammers; here’s what to avoid posting to keep yourself safe.
Too many people share just about everything online. That’s a one-way ticket to Scamtown. Some info makes you an especially prime target. Keep these close to the vest.
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1. Your relationship status
Widows and widowers are big targets. Crooks want to get their grimy hands on inheritance money. Take Rosalie Douglass, who tried her hand at online dating and listed “widow” as her relationship status. Two different scammers connected with Rosalie and swindled her out of a staggering $430,000.
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Pro tip: If you’re a widow or widower, keep it off your dating and social media apps. You never know who’s watching.
2. Your vacation plans
Tiffany posted about her family’s upcoming Carnival cruise on Facebook by sharing shots of her tickets. She didn’t think about the fact her booking reference number was included. The same day, a scammer created a new Carnival account using Tiffany’s confirmation number. The scammer canceled her booking and ruined her $15,000 trip.
Pro tip: Announcing your vacation plans before or during your trip screams “Rob me!” Take tons of pics on your vacation, but don’t share them until you’re home.
3. Videos of you talking
Artificial intelligence tools make it cheap and easy for anyone to create a deepfake video. Recently, on TikTok, a woman named Sam said a shady brand stole her face and used it to promote a product. The brand did it all with a video from her social media account and some deepfake software.
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Pro tip: Limit the personal information you share online, especially high-quality photos and videos of you talking. For most folks, setting your social media accounts to “private” is the way to go.
4. Expensive electronics you’re selling
A South Carolina man listed a limited-edition PlayStation on a Facebook buy-sell-trade group. The “buyer” he met up with pulled out a gun and made off with the PlayStation, plus the man’s phone, wallet and watch. Scary.
Pro tip: If you’re selling anything pricey, meet in a public space during the day and bring a friend. Your local police department’s parking lot should scare off anyone who intends to rob you.
5. Personal walking, hiking and biking routes
Fitness apps with GPS track way more than workouts. I told you about the Secret Service agents who spilled the locations of President Biden and the first lady, President-elect Trump and his wife and Vice President Harris. In case you missed it, the agents used Strava to track their movement and apparently didn’t realize anyone could see those routes.
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Pro tip: If you use a fitness app, change your settings to private. You can disable GPS altogether, but that shuts off the functionality you use the app for in the first place.
6. Your kids’ school or activities
You’re proud of your kiddos and want to share their milestones online. Sorry, but posting photos in front of your kid’s school or sharing their weekly soccer schedule is not smart. You truly never know who is watching.
Pro tip: Don’t post specifics about your kids’ schools, day care centers, sports teams or even the clubs they attend. When you do share, keep it vague and avoid anything identifiable in the background.
7. Your work details
The real danger here is setting yourself up for a scam. Spear-phishing scams target one person with highly personalized information. Mid- and high-level employees are big targets since they may have access to a company’s finances.
The more specific details you post, the more fuel you give a scammer. This includes where you work, your role, projects you’re working on or really anything else.
Pro tip: Limit the details you share about your job. Keep posts about career achievements vague or share only with friends and family.
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