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Think Twice Before Sharing Senior Pics, Cars You've Owned on Facebook, BBB Warns

The "viral" challenges making the rounds on social media are also the answers to many security questions online and could give hackers an easy path to your information

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It may seem harmless and fun to share senior portraits or images of all the cars you've owned with your friends on Facebook, but a new warning from the Better Business Bureau says those posts could cost you.

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"What most people forget is that some of these 'favorite things' are commonly used passwords or security questions," the watchdog group warned. "If your social media privacy settings aren’t high, you could be giving valuable information away for anyone to use."

Among the posts the BBB warned about were a list or photos of all the cars you've owned, favorite athletes and top 10 favorite television shows. But specifically, the group urged users to think twice about the #Classof2020 posts, which involves people sharing their senior portraits or graduation pics.

“Watch out, scammers or hackers who surf through social media sites will see these #ClassOf2020 posts and will now have the name of your high school and graduation year, which are common online security questions," Steve Bernas, president and CEO of BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois, said in a statement. "All it takes is an internet search to reveal more information about you, such as family members, your real name, birth date, or even where you live.”

The group offered the following tips to ensure your information is safe:

  • Resist the temptation to play along. While it’s fun to see other’s posts, if you are uncomfortable participating, it is best not to do it.
  • Review your security settings. Check your security settings on all social media platforms to see what you are sharing and with whom you are sharing.
  • Change security questions/settings. If you are nervous about something, you shared possibly opening you up to fraud, review, and change your security settings for banking and other websites.
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