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Social media will always be a trade-off between connection and protection. Scammers can get valuable information about your life through your social media posts and profiles.

Then, they can use this information to perform targeted fraud attacks or sell your information on the Dark Web.

Here are the 3 most common ways scammers get information they need from your social media.

1. Publicly shared information from your profile. Most security breaches are happening because of the things we put online. Most online profiles have our names, email and even birthday. This information is extremely valuable because scammers can send you very precisie phishing emails or attempt identity theft.

If you share pictures of your trip in the Bahamas, that gives out a priceless piece of information… you are not currently home. A thief could break into your house or steal your personal mail and share important documents’ details on the Dark Web.

2. Logging into social media in a public place. We've all done it… checking TikTok while waiting for the bus, or surfing on Instagram while using the cafe’s Wi-Fi.

There is a type of identity theft called “shoulder surfing”. Lurking eyes will look over your shoulder as you’re typing in your password to any social media account. This can happen in any public space, like a cafe, the park or the metro. Just like with an ATM, always use your hand or body to cover the letters and numbers that you use.

That is not the only danger in public spaces though. Avoid public Wi-Fi as much as you can. It’s surprisingly easy for hackers to intercept your connection and collect all the data. If you must use a public Wi-Fi consider a VPN like Aura, which scrambles the data you send and makes your location untraceable. Try Aura’s VPN for free right here: [ Ссылка ]

3. Weak social media passwords. Nowadays, we have so many online services that we can’t keep track of our passwords. That’s why we are either using passwords which are easy to remember or, even worse, we use the same password on multiple sites. Make your passwords unique and as strong as possible. Every extra digit adds an extra layer of protection.

If hackers guess your password, then they will use it in all your online accounts to see if it matches. So don’t use the same password twice and consider using a password manager to track all of your passwords securely.

Lastly, remember to activate 2-step authentication on all your social media profiles. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security measure that requires a one-time code, either from an app on your phone or a text message, in addition to your password. Today, most major social media accounts include this feature.

As you can see, social media can directly or indirectly give access to scammers in your personal life. With social media, security is in your hands. Luckily, you don’t have to choose whether you’d rather have an account with plenty of connections or one with more protection. Take action to improve the security of your online profile and subscribe to this channel for more online safety information.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
0:53 Publicly shared information from your profile
1:50 Logging into social media in a public place
2:44 Weak social media passwords

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