Cyber-Crime & Social Networking
We all know the joys, benefits and fun associated with social newtorking. Almost everyone does it. Often in the moment we can post things that we normally wouldn't say aloud, nor would we want others to see, which can be embarrassing for ourselves, our families and can even comprimise our employment.
One thing that many of us do not realize until it's too late is the risk associated with our identites. Identity theft can happen to anyone who exposes too much personal information online on various social networking sites.
We can set our personal settings on each site we use to show how identifialbe and seachable we will be on each site. Use it at your discretion. Most sites you can adjust your settings so that only select friends and family can see your personal information and pictures, while people who aren't in your friends list will not.
It is a not a good idea to give away any personal information which a person can use to steal your identity, such as a birth date or address. If you wouldn't give this information to a complete stranger on the street, do not post it online.
Keep in mind when you post things like purchasing a new TV, game console. laptop, etc. You can trust your family and friends, but do you know and trust their friends, and their friends friends?
Social Networking can be dangerous, but it also can be fun. Think long and hard before each post to ensure that it will not be used against you (posting while you are away, letting people know your home is unoccupied), or to make sure you aren't advertising that your children will be home alone (it can be as simple as a comment to your child to be safe, etc).
Get to know the security and privacy settings, and configure them to protect yourself from identity theft.