Now that the internet has been with us for some time there has been a massive growth of social networking sites. As a result of their growth, and the amount of time they’ve been with us, we aren’t as guarded when publicly sharing information. Sharing personal information went from being impossible, to weird, to commonplace. Whether you’re a kid growing up and you don’t know what it’s like to live in a world without social media or you’re an adult who over time has become used to it, it’s necessary to keep your guard up against sharing too much and arming those who mean to take advantage of you.

The first danger is identity theft. In 2002, Canadians reported 7,629 incidents of identify theft to the PhoneBusters National Call centre, reporting a loss of over eight million dollars. These problems are real, and the trouble is substantial! Keep this trouble at bay by using strong passwords comprised of letters and numbers, and don’t make it something obvious that people could guess, like your middle name and your birthday. It’s not a bad idea to change your passwords regularly too. Also, be careful of giving away information in usernames or email addresses. Most importantly, be aware of e-mail scams! Under the guise of Ebay or other popular registered sites, fraudsters operate websites that send out mass e-mails asking people to update their information, and then use this information to hack into their accounts. These registered sites won’t ask you to give them information you have already provided. If you see an e-mail from an address you don’t recognize asking you for information, delete it, and definitely don’t comply!

Sites such as Facebook are the places where people frequently share the most information without really thinking about the consequences. Conversations get very casual and unguarded. However, there are prowlers and crooks who would give an arm and a leg to read a status update that indicates when your family is going away on vacation. It’s possible to find a public event you’re hosting to learn your address. Why not make it easy for them and tell them the combination to the alarm system and the vault? A good rule of thumb is do not share information publicly that you wouldn’t share with a robber.

Lastly, there are companies and institutions dedicated to learning about purchasing behaviours by creeping onto social networking sites and trying to learn what they can about your shopping habits. It’s invasive, but because the people sharing this information on the site are telling their friends, and aren’t being asked directly by the companies themselves, the data is reliable. As a result, companies won’t discontinue this invasion of privacy anytime soon.

Social networking sites are fun, useful, and they’re too ubiquitous to ignore. They don’t have to be a cause for concern if you exercise caution, common sense, and in general you’re mindful while sharing information. Just remember, don’t share anything publicly over the internet if you wouldn’t tell it to a person looking to rob you!

Author Bio: Credit counselling is crucial for those continuing to struggle with debt payments and financial obligations. Find out how credit card debt counselling can improve your financial situation from the experts at Consolidated Credit.

Category: Society
Keywords: credit cards, credit, debt, finance, money