Social networking sites are the hippest sites nowadays. It seems that every one that I know who uses the internet has at least one account or another in some social networking sites. You cannot blame them. Social networking sites are really fun, entertaining and most of all, they allow you to connect with people that you've never seen in a long time or to create new acquaintances.
I have one account in one of the most famous social networking sites in the virtual realm. I was surfing the internet the other day when I came across stories of people who became victims of identity theft because their identities were stolen from social networking site. I read of one girl who had her picture and personal data used as a front to auction items that were never shipped, and there were others whose bank accounts were drained and emptied after identity theft criminals got hold of their personal information from their social networking profiles.
Of course, I didn't want these things to happen to me so I scoured the internet for any information that would tell me how I can protect myself from identity thieves who may lurk social networking sites. I found a handful and here's what I did after my research.
1. I changed my profile picture. My profile picture now shows not my actual picture but rather an "edited" picture of myself. There were a lot of sites online that offer picture editing options for free. I had my picture "cartoonized" so while it's not the real me, it's a cartoonized picture of myself. This would prevent identity theft criminals from accessing my picture and posting is somewhere in the internet.
2. I changed my privacy settings. Following the step above, I also secured the other pictures in my profile. I changed my security settings so that ondnly my "friends" can see my pictures and not my friend's friends or my friend's friend's friend. I also removed any picture that would contain any clue about my identity like where I work or where I usually hang out.
3. I hid my contact information. This also followed when I changed my privacy settings. Most social networking sites provide you with the option on whether you want your contact details to be shown or not-I opt not to. I hid my email address and phone numbers. This way, my email account will not be compromised and no one can do a reverse look up on my phone number.
4. I changed my name and address. I used to have my actual physical address posted on my profile. Now, I only limit it to my region or state. This way, if somebody wants to find me-like an old friend perhaps-they can search my name and my region. However, I don't post my full name. I only use my nickname.
5. I stopped "tweeting" about where I am and what I am doing. Well, I still tell people what I do but I never tell them where I will be until after I've been there. This protects me from burglars that may take place when I am on vacation just because the thieves know that I am not in my house.
Tina L. Douglas is a well established author on the topic of identity theft.
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