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Social Media Tips

5 Tips to Stay Safe on Social Media

Social media provides a great way to connect with our friends and family. However, you should always be cautious about what information you share. Nothing we share on the internet is private, but we can implement these 5 strategies to add layers of protection.

  1. Create Strong Passwords- We know that it is difficult to remember all our passwords with everything needing logins. Yet, it’s imperative to have unique passwords to every login, especially for financial institutions and social media accounts. Longer is stronger when it comes to passwords: consider at least 12 characters. When available, always set up multi-factor authentication.

  2. Be Careful What You Share- Of course it is okay to share our life’s biggest moments- like the birth of a child, a new pet, or weddings with our friends on social media. Still, you should review your post before publishing it. Make sure you aren’t oversharing details that could be used to guess passwords. Seemingly harmless details could be your child’s birthdate & middle name or your anniversary could be used to get more information about you.

  3. Review Your Profile Information- While many social media sites allow you to adjust who can view your profile, this is not a sure safe way to keep your information private. Social media sites are vulnerable to data breaches. Review what type of information you have on your profile and see what can be removed. Unless the information is required to create the profile, it’s strongly suggested to leave it out.

  4. Consider Your Child’s Privacy- It's okay to share your child or grandchild’s accomplishments with others, but doing so online can make their identity vulnerable to identity thieves. In fact, a study in 2018 found that more than 1 million children were targeted for identity theft in 2017.

  5. Click Links with Caution- If you haven’t been hacked on social media, chances are you probably know someone who has. It is important to click links with caution. If it looks suspicious or unusual, it is likely a hacker trying to steal your information.
If you think your information has been compromised, immediately alert your financial institutions. Identity protection services are available at Flatwater Bank. Learn how we help you protected here.