While most of us take into consideration that what we post online can be seen by anyone willing to find it, we may not think that uploading a quick TwitPic can lead to identity theft. Javelin Strategy Research Group did an Identity Theft Survey in 2010 proving that social media has led to a significant increase in identity theft between the ages of 18 and 24. By 2011 the targeted demographic moved to the ages of 25 to 34. It seems obvious not to post a picture of legal documents, but eager teens post pictures of their new licenses, or married couples post their certificates giving away significant identity information.
Although we have the ability on social media sites to disable location tagging, anyone who knows how to access the geotagging data from a picture take with a camera phone, can essentially upload your current location including a home address. Background check companies like Social Intelligence Corp. can access content deleted up to 7 years ago, so deleting profane pictures right before a big job interview will not help hide your past posts.
It all ties back to the overall theme that anything you choose to post online can be accessed by anyone with the time and patience to find it. Check privacy setting thoroughly and post with discretion and responsibility.
Article Source:
Yahoo! News
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1 comment:
I didn't know about the geotagging information. The study on identity theft is interesting, wonder if they'll take a survey to see how much stalking has increased since the invention of geotagging and rising popularity of the check-in feature.
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