Risks of Social Networking. Fraud

Hello again people!!!!!!

This and the next posts are going to talk about things like the risks of social networking, the types of software license, habits of effective network security or propietary software vs free software. For convenience reason, we will divide the parts into several parts.

We are going to talk about the risks of social networking.
Social networking are defined by the Cambridge dictionary as: the use of websites and other internet services to communicate with other people and make friends.

Is undiniable that the social network has brought us a lot of beneficts like: instant information, the capacity of communicate with our family and friends independently of if they are near, if they are far, or the freedom of expression.

But also the have created a lot of problems, like fraud, identity theft, loss of privacy, acces to unsuitable content or cyber bullying.

Let's start with fraud:

Posting too much personal information in your social networking profile could result in identity theft, financial fraud and monetary losses.

You should consider whatever you post as being accessible to the entire world. If you would not put it on a public bulletin board, then do not post it online. Even if you delete your profile, it can still remain on the Internet.

The easiest way for fraudsters to get access to your information is to send you a “friend request” or something similar. Many people assume that only people who know you or have contacts in common would send you a request, and accept it without questioning. You should never accept a friend request if you do not know the person sending it or would not be comfortable with that person having access to your personal information and photos.

How to reduce your r​isks:

• Do not post your home address, telephone number, children’s names, names of schools or employers, or specific details about when you will be absent from home on business trips or vacations.
• If you have to post your date of birth, do not include your year of birth.
• Use different passwords for different applications like social networking sites, email and online banking. Change your passwords often.
• Use secure Internet access only when you access social networking sites. Do not use public Wi-Fi hotspots to link to your social networking pages.
• Use the social networking site’s enhanced privacy settings and only allow approved people to access your profile.
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know.
• If you do not want the world to know something or to see a specific picture of you, do not post it or let any friends post it. 
• Be aware of a site’s privacy settings and policies when you are creating a profile or setting up an account. It is important to know how they protect your data and what they are allowed to do with it. Check whether the site is allowed to sell your information to other companies.
• Learn what you should do if you think your account or profile has been hacked or taken over. It’s important to do this before you become a victim of fraud. That way if your account gets hacked, you will be able to follow the proper steps to get your account returned to you.

For more information visit this website