Social Media Posts: Reliable or Risky?

Our world is connected thanks to the internet. From the ancient technology of stone tablets to leaps in communication technology like the printing press, no invention comes close to creating a communication environment like the Internet. 

But just because the world is more connected than ever before, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. In the U.S. alone, more than 80% of people use at least one social media site. We just can’t seem to help ourselves when it comes to sharing everything! From little details like what we had to eat to important life updates like who we love and what we think, social media is built on sharing. But is sharing always safe? Today, let’s talk about how to stay safe online with social media posting.

Sharing Safety

While some things, like food pics and pet updates, are usually harmless, we also tend to share things like where we are and what we’re doing. And sometimes, social media posts are less innocent–like when we vent our frustrations about people who could see what we post. Therefore, let’s talk about some of the dangers of social media posts. 

Social media posts about your job can result in litigation, competitive disadvantage, reputational harm, data breaches, and even physical breaches. Sure, you can set your privacy settings so that your post only has a limited reach, but the fact is that social media companies are constantly changing their policies. Just take a look at how X, formerly known as Twitter, recently abruptly changed the public visibility of your liked posts. You can never really be certain who’s reading or watching.

Another danger is the risk of scams. Many scammers rely on social engineering, or using peoples’ behavior to gain access to personal information or finances. For example, let’s say that you make a playful tweet about your boss being out of the office for a week. A scammer could use that information to cause a physical breach. They could show up to the office with a phony repair order, saying that your boss contracted them for a repair that needs to be done immediately. With the boss out of the office, a helpful employee may choose to let them in. 

Hacking is another danger of social media. About 300,000 Facebook accounts are hacked each day; a total of 25% of Facebook accounts have been compromised in some way. Phishing scams are abundant on social media, as are other social engineering scams. With these stats in mind, it’s more important than ever to keep your social media secure. 

Avoiding Social Media Snares

Fortunately, there are ways to keep social media safe. You need to be careful about what you post, and you need to be careful with your account’s security. 

First, be careful about what you choose to post. Does the world really need to know what’s happening at your office? No. As the old WWII saying goes, loose lips sink ships! Keep the words of “Silent Cal” Coolidge in mind: “I have never been hurt by anything I didn’t say.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t use social media at all. Just be mindful and think before you hit the post button. 

When it comes to account security, passwords are important. Don’t reuse passwords, instead, choose secure passwords that are difficult to crack by brute force. Your browser can generate secure passwords and always opt for two-factor authentication when you can. 

Stay Safe Online With Casey State Bank

Here at Casey State Bank, we take online security seriously. We want our customers to take comfort in our security measures and to be proactive about their online safety. For example, we use multifactorial authorization for account access to help keep unauthorized users out. For more online safety information, check out our SAFE security topics library, and we encourage you to use our security tools to keep your information protected.