Social media users are not always aware of the dangers associated with some of the information they freely share on social media, which opens a dark side of the platform that could threaten their privacy and security.
According to Doros Hadjizenonos, Check Point SA's sales manager, sharing information that can aid criminals is one of the dangers consumers can easily overlook.
He notes people are sharing every part of their life with others on various social media platforms, unaware of who is watching.
"For example, people regularly share on social media platforms information regarding their holiday, usually unaware criminals are using these platforms to identify and then target vacant homes to burglarise," he says.
Hadjizenonos mentions some of the hidden dangers of social media are identity theft and spam.
He explains cyber criminals are targeting people's social media profiles in order to gain information which can help them steal people's identities. Cyber criminals are creating fake accounts and posing as the real people in order to gain private information or fraudulently take money from their friends and followers.
"We saw an uptake in this kind of activity about a year ago where criminals duplicated people's Facebook accounts and then asked their friends to invite or accept their friend request again," he continues.
"Posing as the real person, they asked for personal information or money from their friends and followers. People quickly caught on to this scam, but there were still people who fell for it."
He believes the overall level of awareness is increasing as security has become a major talking point over the past couple of months. However, he says people are still not taking the correct measures to ensure they are protected from these threats.
In helping consumers protect themselves on social media, Hadjizenonos advises consumers to secure each account they have on social media with strong passwords; to be mindful about what they share; check their privacy settings; secure their accounts with two-factor authentication; think twice about clicking on links and installing faulty apps; and to not accept unknown connection or friend requests.
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