Nowadays, almost all people use the Internet because of different reasons. Just like there are different people in real life, there are different people in social media as well. Crimes occurred hundreds of years ago. No wonder people who seek easy money started to use the Internet to steal data or money.
Ways to Steal Money or Information
There are a couple of common ways to steal money from social network users:
Charity fraud
There are people on the streets or in the underground asking for money to buy food. But you never know whether they are actually in need or want easy money. The same can happen on the Internet. People can create fake charity accounts and get money from people who would like to help others.
Data fraud
Many people enjoy posting different things on their accounts. Some of them share rather personal information such as birth date, place of studies and work, and family members. One has to be very careful and not share too much information so that nobody could misuse it.
Use Internet Safely
Send money or share your information only with verified users. Social networks give a lot of possibilities to buy interesting items, apply for useful courses, or purchase clothes. It is rather popular to make orders through internet shops and have them delivered to a post office close to your home. However, you should not easily trust all the accounts. Make sure to send money only to verified users. It is not that easy to become verified that is why such accounts are more trustworthy. But how do you become verified on Instagram?
- You have a ton of followers. It is possible to verify an account when having over 10k followers.
- Pay a third party. Sometimes an account should be verified before it can get a lot of followers. It is also possible if a person is ready to pay for it.
- Work with a digital agency. It is easier to be trusted and verified if there is an agency that could help.
It shows that the verification process is not that easy. And if the account you want to work with is verified, it means that the people working there have done too much work to simply delete the account and steal money.
Share personal information wisely
Lately, more and more people post personal photos and write some thoughts about them. They talk about their everyday life and plans for the future. However, it is not the smartest idea to post something like “I have finally gone to Italy for a few weeks”. Some people might see it as a sign of a free flat.
Be careful with what social media already knows about you. Remember that social media knows a lot about you already. It is easy to see your friends, what you share, what you have in common with other people. Different algorithms are used to influence your internet decisions.
You can, of course, share the information you want. But remember that you show it to the whole world. Do it wisely. Disclose only those facts that cannot be used to your disadvantage.