"The Dangers of Sharing Personal Information on Social Media"

According to Joseph Turow, a Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, sharing photos and other personal information on social media creates more opportunities for hackers to gain access to accounts. Photos posted on social media platforms, such as Facebook, can give hackers more insight into the context of a user and their relationships that may indicate their location. These kinds of posts increase users' vulnerability to hackers attempting to hijack online accounts. Scammers can scan social media posts for photo hashtags related to graduating in order to find the name of a user's high school and their graduation year, which are answers to two of the most common security questions for bank accounts, retirement funds, and other financial online accounts. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has also expressed similar concerns about people posting personal information on social media about their vehicles, favorite athletes, favorite shows, and more as it could lead to greater success for online scams and hacks. This article continues to discuss the potential risks posed by sharing personal information on social media and what precautions users should take before engaging in social media trends involving such information.

Penn Today reports "The Dangers of Sharing Personal Information on Social Media"