June 30th is World Social Media Day, which is a day designated for celebrating all of the relationships that have been made and kept through social media.

Many of us never understood the depth of influence that social media would have on our lives, but the past 20 years has proven its’ power. Many good things tend to have some sort of negative trade-off. Social media is no exception. It is a powerful, helpful tool for many reasons, but its’ negative tradeoff tends to be one where users overshare information and place themselves at risk.

“Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprints and personal brand.”

Amy Jo Martin, Founder and CEO of Digital Royalty

Oversharing information can be as simple as connecting and permitting applications and games to share your information or as innocent as sharing a photo of yourself and tagging your location (which reveals information to a cybercriminal that you don’t want them to have access to.)

Additionally, not utilizing privacy and security settings to their fullest is another way that users place themselves at higher risk.

Cybercriminals will look for any breadcrumb of information to steal from you. That’s why it’s important to be aware of what you share, which apps/games you are sharing information with and to acquaint yourself with security and privacy controls that are available to you.

How to Stay Connected, Safe & Protected

• When sharing updates, do not share your location (or do so discreetly)
  • Why? Criminals look for information that can tie you to your home address, connecting them to you. Additionally, posting about long vacations are like billboards to criminals that your home is potentially vacant, meaning an easy target for them.
• Set up 2-Factor Authentication on all social media accounts
  • Why? If your account credentials are compromised, 2FA will help stop cybercriminals from accessing your account by adding in an additional layer or protection.
• Think Twice and consider what you openly share on social media
  • Why? Seemingly innocent comments and posts could reveal personal information, potentially leading to a compromise of your account, or worse, your identity. When in doubt, throw it out. Personally identifying or linkable information includes:
    • First & Last Name
    • Address
    • Email Address
    • Age
    • Date of Birth
    • Answers to security questions (including Mother’s maiden name, dog name, high school mascot, first car you drove, etc.)
• Avoid games/apps that require access to your profile information
  • Why? Games and apps may seem innocent, but oftentimes, providing them with access to your account only serves as a way for them to access your account information.
• Create new accounts with third-party sites instead of using an existing social media account to login
  • Why? When you use an existing social media account to login, oftentimes, you are providing these websites with more information than is necessary.
  • Avoid this: “Sign Up using Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.”

• Link your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to IDSeal for monitoring.
  • Why? IDSeal monitors linked accounts for privacy or reputation risks and provides alerts of any found risks.
• Find & Review Security & Privacy Settings on all of your social media accounts.
  • Why? Social media networks may be gathering more data than you feel comfortable sharing with them. Additionally, information that people can find due to settings not being made more private and secure can compromise your identity if information makes it into the wrong hands.

How to Link your Social Media Accounts to IDSeal

Members of IDSeal can link their social media accounts as soon as registration is completed. Members with a Platinum Plus subscription can also link their child’s social media accounts to be monitored.

How to link your social media accounts for IDSeal to begin monitoring:

1. Login to your Member Portal
2. Scroll Down on your Dashboard (this is the page you first come to when you login)
3. Click the “Link” button to whichever social media account you wish to monitor Note: you will need the username & password in order to complete this step.

How to link your child’s social media accounts for IDSeal to begin monitoring:

1. Login to your Member Portal
2. Scroll Down on your Dashboard (this is the page you first come to when you login)
3. Find “You and Your Children”
4. Select the child you wish to connect social media accounts for
5. Click “Edit child”
6. Click the “Link” button to whichever social media account you wish to monitor Note: you will need the username & password in order to complete this step.

Not a member but ready to learn more about the great features included in an IDSeal subscription? Head over to our Protection & Plans page to learn more.