Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., are extensively used by all of us. We love sharing an update or a selfie or pictures with our friends and relatives. We love receiving likes and comments on our posts/pictures and updates. While social networking sites have helped us in connecting with our friends and relatives easily, there are serious cyber threats that can impact us if we are not careful.

How it works?

Cyber criminals and cyber bullies can use social networking platforms to harm us. Let us learn about common cyber threats related to social networking sites which can impact anyone of us.

  • Cyber criminals can create your fake account on social media and use it to share negative things and inappropriate content to harm your image or for other illegal purposes. This is a very real threat and can impact anyone. It is easy to create a social media account using any email id. These days our pictures, email id, date of birth and other details are easily available online. Cyber criminals can use these details to create our fake account.
  • Cyber bullying is very common on social media platforms. Cyber bullies can use social media to send rude or hurtful messages to demean or hurt you.
  • Online frauds can be triggered through links shared on social networking sites. Cyber criminals share a post with a malicious link or a malware. If you click on the link, your computer or mobile can be infected or compromised.Concerned about cyber threats on social networking platforms? Don’t worry … with awareness and precautions you can safeguard yourself and use social networking sites safely. You need to be careful and fol low safeguards to protect yourself and your friends against such frauds.

    Let’s discuss how you can protect yourself and your social media accounts. Don’t forget to share these suggestions with your family and friends.

  • First important step is to safeguard your own social networking account so that it is not hacked or compromised. For this you must use a complex password and change it periodically.
  • Never share password of your social media account with anyone. Sharing password may compromise your account.
  • Whatever you post on social networking sites can be visible to everyone unless you restrict the access of your posts to your friends/followers. You must change the privacy settings of your social media account and ensure that your updates/posts, etc. are visible to your friends/followers only.
  • Avoid accepting friend request from unknown people. Before accepting a friend request try to see how many other people are following or are in friend’s list of the requester. Cyber criminals can create fake account of your known person so be careful.
  • Whatever you post on social media generally remains there. Be careful before posting anything on social media. Think if the information can be shared with everyone. Never share your personal details such as address, phone number, date of birth, etc. on social media sites.
  • If you are using computer of your friend or a computer in a cyber cafe to access your social media accounts, make sure you don’t click yes on “remember password popup” which generally comes when you login from a new computer. You must never allow any computer to remember your password (this means password will not be required to login to your account on that system). Always remember to sign off from your account after using it.
  • If you are accessing social media accounts on your mobile phone, remember to keep a strong password to access your phone.
  • If your social media account is hacked/compromised, send an alert email or message to all your contacts. Immediately ask your social media service provider to temporarily block your account. Try to retrieve your password and change your password immediately.
  • If you notice that your fake account has been created, you can immediately inform social media service provider so that the account can be blocked. If someone is bullying you, posting inappropriate comments or images or creating your fake account to damage your image, inform your parents or elders immediately so that they can support and guide you. With support from your parents, you can also register a complaint at your nearest pol ice station.
  • Never install unwanted software and apps from unknown sources. Never click on links or files received from unknown person on social media. This may be an attempt to infect your computer with a malware.
  • Fake news or Hoax messages spread like wildfire on social media. It may create law and order problem and may end-up causing loss of life in few cases. Before forwarding or sharing any message on social media or messaging app, check it on other sources also to confirm its authenticity.

Hope you enjoyed reading these tips. These suggestions should help you in protecting yourself from cyber crimes. As you know cyber criminals frequently devise new ways to cheat people. It is important to remain up to date with new threats and ways to protect ourselves.

Loading

LokapriyaSocial MediaFacebook,Instagram,networking,online frauds,security. tips,snapchat,social media,Social Networking Profiles,twitter,X
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., are extensively used by all of us. We love sharing an update or a selfie or pictures with our friends and relatives. We love receiving likes and comments on our posts/pictures and updates. While social networking sites have helped...