For social media users who must put information about themselves online, there are two things involved. It is either they reduce drastically the amount of personal information they put up on the internet, or they should limit the amount of their personal information online that is accessible to the public.
New information emerging from foreign media has revealed that anytime from now, insurance companies are set to put in place mechanisms that will make it possible for them to ignore clients who have made it easy for scammers to get at them due to their ‘grossly negligent’ use of social media. According to a report, Facebook users in particular post an “alarming” amount of information online.
According to Alessandra Quartucci, head of saving at confused.com, “At the moment banks do not check a claimant’s personal social network information… However, we wouldn’t be surprised in the future if this did change as people are making this information more and more accessible.” Other experts say “simply posting a picture of your car, or details about which phone network you use, is now enough for many scammers to be able to hack your computer and steal your bank details within minutes”
Another analysis refers to those who put information about their movement on social networking sites:
“If you get burgled and you had [put up] ‘checked in at Heathrow’ a few days before on Facebook, insurance companies will make it hard for you to claim your money back.”
In the Nigerian context, this kind of information cannot be timelier, considering the fact that an unsuspecting young Nigerian just lost her life in the hands of strangers she met on social media. Yes, the world is fast becoming a global village; it is okay to socialize, but while we are smart enough to be cautious with people see and relate with in real life, it is amazing how so easily we tend to give up vital information about ourselves to strangers online – all in the name of socializing.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
