Safe Finances Online (part 2): What Should Be Kept Confidential?

Anyone old enough to be enrolled in elementary school knows that you shouldn’t leave certain possessions sitting around in public— they could be stolen. Purses, wallets, computers, iPods, and cell phones are very tempting to thieves, and if you leave them unattended, they likely won’t be there when you return.

The Internet also has thieves, and you must also take caution “in public”, i.e. anywhere online. But instead of objects, thieves target information.

Your personal data is the key to your real-world lifestyle, your persona. If a thief can take advantage of it, he will.

Let’s say your Facebook account displays your phone number to friends and friends-of-friends. You decide to spend a weekend at the beach, and announce this through your status. An ill-intending friend-of-a-friend (or friend) can perform a reverse look-up on your phone number to find your address, and break into your home while you’re conveniently away.

Even information as innocent as “weekend at the beach! see ya!” can have awful consequences if it floats around for the global community to see.

But the point is not to be paranoid. The point is to be choosy with what you reveal.

So here’s what to do to protect your information:

Be strict with Facebook and Linkedin settings. Let only friends access your private information, and even then you should be picky about what you broadcast. The same goes for any other personal web pages you maintain.

Don’t give out your address and phone number. White page searches make these available to begin with. Don’t make a crook’s job any easier.

Keep quiet about your relatives’ vital stats. Sure, you can mention mom or dad in a Facebook post. But don’t offer their full names or birth dates (especially your mother’s maiden name). These are standard security questions, and they are fuel for ID theft.

No specifics about your car. That includes your license plate number, your VIN, your insurance info, your title number, and your driver’s license number. Not only does your ID theft risk increase, so does your risk for car theft!

And of course, your Social Security number. Keep it secret.

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