It is very easy to find any information you need in today’s connected world. Have you ever Googled yourself to see what information about you is online?
A search can often provide your address history, phone number, age, birth date, employment information, public records, and social media accounts. Consider what can be done with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from the perspective of a cyber criminal looking to commit identity theft or other crimes.
Children, teens and senior citizens are all groups who especially may not realize how vulnerable they are to being a victim of cyber crime.
- Senior citizens may be more trusting of the material that is presented to them online.
- Children and teens are growing up with technology and may be using it to communicate with each other with only a recreational level of understanding. They may not realize that once you post online, it rarely goes away.
To keep information safe or private, we need to take care of sharing it and teach cyber hygiene to those who may not understand its importance. The MS-ISAC, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, has several examples of how we are asked to provide information, or how people share information that should be kept private, along with several helpful resources.
Among the tips: posting about being on vacation sends a signal to criminals that your home may be unoccupied and a great target for a robbery! Also, with all this information about you on social media, be sure to set your account privacy settings so only friends can view your content.
