Practice safe social networking
With more and more people joining social networks, there has been an increased danger of social engineering, a form of identity theft where thieves gather personal information from social networking sites.
How to protect yourself
- Before joining a social networking site or community, research it online to make sure it's legitimate.
- Do not use the same username and password to log into social networking sites that you use to access your online banking accounts.
- Never share personal information such as: User IDs, PINs and account numbers on social media sites.
- Create a screen name that doesn't reveal too much about you.
- Be careful when clicking links. Even if the message appears to come from a friend, contact the sender directly to make sure it's authentic.
- Post only information you are comfortable with others seeing, and regard information posted on social media sites as public and permanent.
- Use privacy settings to limit access to your information.
- Never include any information that can help thieves steal your identity, such as your address, phone number or even employment information.