Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Online Identity Theft - Be careful of what you post online


When the average teenager enters their first year of University, they are naïve and trusting of the environment they’re in. Thus, when they’re adding pictures on Facebook, tweeting or using other social media platforms, they aren’t necessarily thinking of what others might think of their online identity.
An article was posted from US News about this topic in particular, targeting University students, and how they can protect their online identity. The article claimed that online theft happens regularly- hacking onto online bank accounts, e-mail accounts, and social media websites. An interesting point made was that many students over share information on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, that can lead to thieves impersonating legitimate companies (banks etc…), attempting to obtain their personal information and password details. The main problem is that students are inexperienced, and need to learn how to protect their online identities.
In order to protect themselves, students should refrain from including personal information on social media websites. This includes addresses, credit card information, Social Insurance Number, or date of birth. It is imperative to use different passwords for different accounts and never share passwords with anyone.

Read the article and be careful of what you post online!

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