TYLER, Texas — It seems harmless and fun! A bunch of friends on Facebook or other social media are sharing their senior portraits, including the high school name and graduation year, to support the graduating class of 2020 (most of whom are at home because of the coronavirus pandemic).
Watch out, scammers or hackers who surf through social media sites will see these #ClassOf2020 posts, and will now have the name of your high school and graduation year, which are common online security questions. All it takes is an internet search to reveal more information about you, such as family members, your real name, date of birth or even where you live.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) cautions everyone to be aware of what they are sharing. Even if you think it’s just going to your friends, it could also be going somewhere else.
Other recent viral personal list posts include all the cars you’ve owned (including makes/model years), favorite athletes and top 10 favorite television shows.
What most people forget is that some of these “favorite things” are commonly used passwords or security questions. If your social media privacy settings aren’t high, you could be giving valuable information away for anyone to use.
BBB has the following tips to keep you safe on social media:
- Resist the temptation to play along. While it’s fun to see other’s posts, if you are uncomfortable participating, it is best to not do it.
- Review your security settings. Check your security settings on all social media platforms to see what you are sharing and with whom you are sharing.
- Change security questions/settings. If you are nervous about something you shared possibly opening you up to fraud, review and change your security settings for banking and other websites.
For more information about privacy concerns online, see BBB's scam alert on Facebook quizzes.
For tips for staying safe online, read BBB's tips on staying cybersecure.
You can also report scams to BBB Scam Tracker.
