Your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Instagram account could be the perfect tool for thieves looking to steal your identity. Why? Because of the information you share. Research by Next Advisor showed that 68% of people with public profiles shared their birthday and 18% offered up their phone numbers out there for anyone who might come across it. Those are two very handy pieces of information for scammers.
Other big help for crooks: photos of your pets, your relationship status and information about where you went to school or grew up. When you go to retrieve or change a password, you will often get asked a question like “What was the name of your first pet?” or “Where did you go to elementary school?”
Since anniversaries and birthdays are often used in passwords, those dates can provide clues as to what yours might be. Pet names are also a top choice for passwords and crooks know that. An open social media profile can make that important information available to anyone.
So check your privacy settings to make sure that only your friends can see your account. Also be careful about who you accept as friends or contacts. Make sure these people are actually friends. Or if you prefer to have a public account, be very careful about the information you choose to share.
Better safe than sorry.