5 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER POST ON FACEBOOK

Facebook has become the Google of social networks. If
you're not updating your status right now, chances are that you are uploading
photos or taking some sort of odd quiz. We post tons of intimate details about
our lives that we normally wouldn't share with anyone. We think that as long as
we make sure our privacy settings are set correctly that we are safe and snug
within our circle of friends.

 

The problem is
that we never know who's really looking at our information. Our friend's
account could have been hacked when they installed some rogue application, or
their creepy uncle might be using their account because they forgot to log out.
For the sake of the safety of you and your family, there is some information
that you should never post on Facebook. Here are 5 things you should consider
removing or not posting to Facebook and/or other social networks.

1. You or Your
Family's Full Birth Dates

We all love
getting “happy birthdays” from our friends on our Facebook wall. It makes us
feel all warm inside knowing that people remembered and cared enough to write
us a short note on our special day. The problem is when you list your birthday
you are providing identity thieves with one of the 3 or 4 pieces of personal
information that is needed to steal your identity. It’s best to not list the
date at all, but if you must, at least leave out the year. Your real friends
should know this info anyway.

2. Your
Relationship Status

Whether you are in
a relationship or not, it may be best not to make it public knowledge. Stalkers
would love to know that you just became newly single. If you change your status
to "single" it gives them the green light they were looking for to
resume stalking now that you're back on the market. It also lets them know that
you might be home alone since your significant other is no longer around. Your
best bet is to just leave this blank on your profile.

3. Your Current
Location

There are a lot of
people who love the location tagging feature on Facebook that allows them to
let people know where they are 24/7. The problem is that you have just told
everyone that you're on vacation (and not at your house). If you add how long
your trip is then thieves know exactly how much time they have to rob you. My
advice is not to provide your location at all. You can always upload your
vacation pictures when you get home or text your friends to let them know how
jealous they should be that you're sipping an umbrella drink while they toil
away at work.

4. The Fact
That You Are Home Alone

It is extremely
important that parents make sure their children never put the fact that they
are home alone in their status. Again, you wouldn’t walk into a room of
strangers and tell them you are going to be all alone at your house so don’t do
it on Facebook either.

We may think that
only our friends have access to our status, but we really have no idea who is
reading it. Your friend may have had their account hacked or someone could be
reading over their shoulder at the library. The best rule of thumb is not to
put anything in your profile or status that you wouldn’t want a stranger to
know. You may have the most stringent privacy settings possible, but if your
friend’s account gets compromised than those settings go out the window.

5. Pictures of
Your Kids Tagged With Their Names

We love our kids.
We would do anything to keep them safe, but most people post hundreds of tagged
pictures and videos of their kids to Facebook without even giving it a second
thought. We even go so far as to replace our profile pictures with that of our
children.

Probably 9 out of
10 parents posted their child’s full name, and exact date and time of birth
while they were still in the hospital after delivery. We post pictures of our
kids and tag them and their friends, siblings, and other relatives. This kind
of information could be used by predators to lure your child. They could use
your child’s name and the names of their relatives and friends to build trust
and convince them that they are not really a stranger because they know
detailed information that allows them to build a rapport with your child.

If you must post
pictures of your children then you should at least remove personally
identifying information such as their full names and birth dates. Untag them in
pictures. Your real friends know their names anyway.

Lastly, think
twice before you tag pictures of the children of friends and relatives. They
might not want you tagging their kids for the reasons mentioned above. You can
send them a link to the pictures and they can tag themselves in place of their
children if they want to.