Do You Know What People Can Find Out About You Online?

Social media is a huge part of our lives. We've become obsessed with letting everyone know what we are up to. Because of this, it's getting a lot easier for people to steal your identity. Also, social media outlets increase the chances of fraud. The biggest factor that causes people to fall into these traps is oversharing.

You can pull up any of your friends on Facebook right now and easily find a lot of personal details. Although you may not care much for this info, there are a lot of criminals out there who see this as a gold mine.

Say you upload a new photo to Facebook with the caption: "On vacation with my family for the weekend!" That may as well have been an invitation sent directly to burglars. Many people know not to share sensitive information online such as your driver's license, social security number, etc. But even if you withhold the previously mentioned information there is a lot of other goodies exposed to the public:

§ Full, Middle, and Last name

§ Birthday

§ Where you're from

§ Single, Married, Divorced

§ Education records

§ Employment

§ Hobbies and Interest

The best way you can prevent and fraud is just being smart about what you're sharing and who you are sharing things with. Most social media sites allow for public and private settings. Facebook, for example, allows for anything you post to be specifically set for particular viewers.

You should always try to minimize the amount of personal information you put on your profiles and only send/accept friend requests to and from people you know. It's also a good idea to update your online passwords constantly. Instead of choosing only one security question that asks what town you grew up in, pick multiple questions.

With social media users increasing daily, it's important to know how to . Visit Spyfly for more tips on how to stay safe.