The Risks of Personal Information on Social Media

CEBU, Philippines — There has since developed on social media a hideous practice called “doxxing.” It is essentially the buying, selling, and using of personal information found online, typically with malicious intent. A doxxing-related crime is oftenpulled off with the aid of personal information reseller websites, using the personal information of people that aren't even aware it has been posted.The personal information may include past and current home addresses, workplaces, and phone numbers.

In an article at the website www.irmi.com,cyber security expert Mark Lanterman states that “in today's world, huge amounts of personal information are created and stored, and it's often difficult to manage who has access to the info.” And only few peopleare technologically smart to take a proactive approach to remove their personal information from online sources; the restare ignorant of the possible adverse consequences and just do not care.

Ironically, many social media users are only too eager to share their personal information online. It can be seen in the multifarious personal nitty-gritties that are being posted on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. It seems they want every little bit about themselves known… to everyone.

It might be simple human nature to want to be noticed. The average person would want someone to acknowledge him so may feel to be of some worth. This natural human behavior is awkward enough when obvious in actual social interaction – much worse when it takes place in cyberspace.

Lanterman’s advice: "Don't post private information on social media." It seems pretty straightforward and maybe even a little too simplistic to be considered as cyber security advice. Perhaps he would have to explain to most social media users what "private information" actually means and why it is really important to keep it safe.

He gives an example: “Some people like to post pictures of their passports online on any number of social media sites. Many people post this kind of photo to share their excitement about an upcoming trip or to memorialize expired passports before obtaining new ones.” It may seem harmless to do this, Lanterman points out. Who would really take seriously a photo of a passport, anyway?

But, Lanterman continues, tests have shown that with just some of the information spotted in a photo a lot can be done, including the possibility of changing future flights and figuring out a person's travel schedule. He cites photos that contain a passport's barcode are especially problematic as these barcodes may be scanned using readily available applications “and may contain more information than is printed on the actual paper copy.” In addition to figuring out someone's travel plans, information gleaned from a passport photo can also be used, at least in part, to obtain access to someone's frequent-flyer numbers and associated accounts.

The same risk is also true for driver's licenses (especially those of new drivers), marriage certificates, house documents, medical records, and credit cards.Sadly, most social media users just wantto share; they naively feel they won’t be singled out in the vast cyber universe.

Even if they get to learn of someone being victimized by “doxxing,” the prevalent mindset is: "It won't happen to me." This is especially so with those whose social media posts consist purely of innocuous chitchats and some ‘silly’ photos.

In this day and age, everyday life has extensively embraced the cyber world and some users are simply too young or inexperienced to understand the full scope of the consequences of their online behavior.

The common tendency to overshare is there.Everyone is so eager to get their friends and families interested in whatever they post. Besides, everyone’s doing the same anyway.

But such ‘reckless’, albeit pure-intentioned, behavior on social media can have ‘real life’ implications.While posting personal information may not seem like a big deal, someone with bad intentions may just make a big deal of it. Social media – the mere fact that it’s hard to figure out its breadth – can be a precarious territory, as well.

The general precaution to take is to make sure that personal identification information is never shared on social media applications. And, if it has been shared, to remove it. This includes any information related to one’s address, phone number, e-mail address, and those belonging to one’s family and friends. The rule of thumb is that if one doesn’t want a complete stranger on the street corner to know the information, then it should not be shared on the internet.