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Why You Probably Shouldn’t Share Your Old Senior Portraits On Facebook

Why You Probably Shouldn’t Share Your Old Senior Portraits On Facebook

senior protraits
In a show of solidarity with #Classof2020, people are posting senior portraits including high school name and graduation year on Facebook. Not a good idea. Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

In a show of solidarity with the class of 2020, who will not get to march in a graduation ceremony anytime soon, people are posting senior portraits including high school name and graduation year on the #Classof2020 Facebook challenge.

Maybe not such a good idea, says the Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit that tracks internet scams, among other things. The BBB’s stated mission is to focus on advancing trust in the marketplace.

These and other potential scams have shown up recently during this period of COVID-19 self-quarantine and isolation, AL.com reported.

Scammers can scan sites for the #Classof2020 hashtag and find the name of your high school and your graduating year — two common online security questions, CNN reported. If your social media privacy settings aren’t high, they can find out a lot more about you.

Hackers can use any piece of information you share in a viral challenge to break into your private accounts, the Better Business Bureau said. Besides your school name and graduating year, other examples of giveaways include your mother’s maiden name, the name of your first pet, makes and models of your cars, and the name of the town where you were born.

Here’s how people get scammed, BBB said: Quizzes on Facebook or other social media platforms ask seemingly innocuous questions to prove how well you know a friend. Or you take a short personality test to match with a character from your favorite TV show. Scammers can use that information to hurt you.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 70: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin goes solo to discuss the COVID-19 crisis. He talks about the failed leadership of Trump, Andrew Cuomo, CDC Director Robert Redfield, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and New York Mayor de Blasio.

Before you share, the bureau suggests you tighten your security settings so strangers can’t find your information as easily and regularly change the security questions you use to access online banking and other services.

Wired walks you through the steps you need to take on Facebook to keep advertisers, third-party apps, strangers, and Facebook itself in check.

For more information on privacy concerns online, see the Better Business Bureau’s scam alert on Facebook quizzes.

“The Class of 2020 feels your support. Just don’t get scammed while you’re showing it,” Scottie Andrew reported for CNN.