What’s the first thing you do when you join a new social media platform or create a new social media profiles a platform you are already on?
Hopefully, the answer is to turn on specific security settings for your account.
If you’re relying on the default security settings to keep safe, you could be at imminent risk of account takeover, cyber stalkers gleaning information for a spear-phishing attack or interacting with catfish accounts that want to get close to you so they can glean financial details.
Catfishing: Is the act of creating a fake online identity to trick someone into a relationship or other online interactions. The term “catfish” refers to the person who creates the phony identity.
How big a problem are catfish accounts? LinkedIn took action on over 63 million fake social media profiles in the last six months of 2023. Facebook removed 631 million fake accounts between January and March 2024.
The sabotage of social media profiles is very real, and cyberattacks are growing and evolving. Personalizing your account security helps protect you from all kinds of cybercrimes.
Why Changing Your Social Media Profiles Settings Keeps Your Accounts Safe
Only seven of every ten social media users change their privacy settings to manage their online privacy. If you are not one of them, you should be. It’s time to start taking those steps toward better cyber safety online.
Prevent unauthorized access to your accounts. Don’t share your passwords with anyone.
By managing who has access to your social media accounts, you can prevent unauthorized individuals from posting content, accessing sensitive data, or changing your account settings. If you share a device with others, log out after each session so they can’t access your profile. You should also change your passwords regularly and never reuse/recycle them between accounts.
Protect personally identifiable information (PII). Proper security settings safeguard your personal information from access or misuse by others. This includes protecting against identity theft and ensuring your private data remains confidential. Implementing multi-factor authentication, like your biometrics, adds an extra layer of protection in case your credentials are compromised.
Avoid content mistakes and untruths. Limiting permissions to trusted individuals reduces the risk of posting accidental or harmful content. This is especially important for businesses where a single post can impact brand reputation! It’s also true of personal accounts; a falling out with your best friend could motivate them to post nasty, untrue content on your social media that doesn’t reflect your true beliefs.
Enhance your privacy. Adjusting privacy settings lets you control who can see your posts, photos, and personal details. Is it just friends? Friends of friends? Or can anyone who visits your profile see everything from your posts to your personal information? Changing these permissions helps maintain your privacy and protects you from potential cyberbullying or harassment.
Reduce your risk of falling for scams and phishing attempts by enabling certain security features and watching out for suspicious messages. This will make it harder for scammers and phishers to gain access to your accounts.
Taking these steps will significantly enhance the security of your social media presence and protect you from a wide range of online threats. When you’re the only one with access to your profiles and accounts, you’re more likely to stay the only one, even if a cybercriminal tries to infiltrate.
Hackers compromise approximately 1.4B social media accounts every single month. Yours doesn’t have to be one of them!
Kick your cybersecurity up a notch. It starts with improving cybersecurity on all of your social media accounts. Your settings and your security are in your hands.
Commonwealth Sentinel will help you face your organization’s growing cyber security threats. We can evaluate your existing IT security and work with your team to protect your data and assets. At Commonwealth Sentinel, we are focused on cyber security, so you can focus on other things. Contact us today or sign up for a free consultation.