Facebook, for many, has become an addiction and we don’t always think about some of things that we post. It’s a great way to keep up with friends and family but Facebook is also a great way for thieves to gain access to your personal information. Here is a list of things not to do on Facebook to keep you and your family safe.
Use the privacy controls in place on Facebook that is what the settings are there for. Restrict access to your photos and personal information to family and friends. Consider leaving out contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses you probably don’t want anyone to have anyway. Don’t let young children on Facebook unsupervised. They can sometimes post things that you don’t want people to know; like that you are not home.
Also you do not mention in your posts that you will be away from home and how long. If thieves are watching your post, they know the exact dates to come rob your home. Wait until you are home to talk about you trip. It would also be a good idea for you not to post that you are doing something at the same time every day, like you are leaving going to the gym.
Avoid using weak passwords. Simple words or names with numbers on the end are weak. Mix upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols. Your password should be at least eight characters long. Try inserting numbers and symbols in the middle to strengthen the password. Doing this on all your passwords, not just Facebook will keep your information safe.
Leaving your full birthday in your profile opens you up to identity theft. This will give identity thieves enough information about you to potentially get access to bank or credit card accounts. Go in to your account and edit your birthday to show only month and year or no birthday at all.
