Subscribe
FREE EBOOK
Valid Email Required to receive free eBookSecurity Tips
Browse by Month
Browse by Category
Browse by Category
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
In a shocking instance of high tech harassment, a hacker took over a woman’s Facebook account while she was on a camping trip, with no Internet and no cell phone service. The hacker impersonated this woman, but instead of attempting to scam her family and friends out of cash, he used her Facebook profile to post suicidal messages, including, “My only friend is the handgun in the back of my closet,” and, “I don’t want a funeral or memorial, I want it to be like I never existed.” After two and a half hours of Facebook drama, the victim happened to regain cell phone reception and discovered twenty voicemail messages begging her not to do “anything drastic.” By the time her son was able to get in touch with her, there were police gathered outside her home, preparing to break down the door. This is a nightmare that can happen to anyone.
- Strengthen your passwords; use upper/lower case, numbers and characters. Don’t use easily guessed words from the dictionary or pets names and kid’s birthdates, etc.
- Don’t access social media from libraries, internet cafes or any public computers that could have spyware.
- Make sure your own PC has updated virus definitions and security patches. Be careful with all the 3rd party apps in social media. Many are risky.
- Don’t click on links in emails from “friends” asking you to download a video or see pictures. This is becoming a common ruse in social media.
- Monitor who has access to your PC in your own home. Babysitters, friends of your children and various contractors in your home can access your information. I have a security camera in my home office that monitors everything 24/7/365.
Robert Siciliano personal security expert discussing social media identity theft on CNN
Robert Siciliano is a personal security and identity theft expert for Home Security Source. (Disclosures)
About the Author
ROBERT SICILIANO, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His "tell it like it is" style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment's notice on breaking news.
ROBERT SICILIANO, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His "tell it like it is" style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment's notice on breaking news.
Similar Posts
- High-Tech Harassment in Social Media
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Technology keeps providing new opportunities for harassment: social media identity theft, cell phone abuse, online bullying, the list goes on. Over a year ago, I appeared on The Tyra Show to discuss high tech harassment. I met a family from Washington, who found that several of their phones had been hacked and were being used - Facebook Newest Portal for Social Media Identity Theft
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Imagine trying to log into your online accounts one after the other and being locked out. At first you think the site you are visiting screwed up but then it keeps happening over and over again no matter where you go. Then you start receiving messages from friends and family asking - Software Makes Dumbphones Smart for Facebook
Facebook for SIM, from Gemalto enables anyone to enjoy Facebook on all handsets, even if without a data connection or data subscription. With this technology, Gemalto brings Facebook to millions of mobile phone users regardless of their handset type. “Increasingly people want to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends on Facebook anytime, - How To Recover a Hacked Facebook Account
If you found this post in search and need a quick link go here: https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=203305893040179&ref_query=hacked If you want to learn, read on. At least weekly some stressed out victim of a Facebook hack a.k.a “account takeover”, contacts me to help them get their account back in order. While I do have a connection or two at Facebook, I’m - 5 Gotta Have Social Media Apps
Applications on mobile phones are all the rage. I spend more time on my apps than I do making calls. That time spent is often with those I connect with on social media. Twitter and Facebook are the major players in social media and applications for them are a plenty. TweetDeck FREE. TweetDeck is your mobile browser for
2 Responses to “Secure Your Social Media”
Hey Dave,
Great comment. And, securing your social media requires more common sense than it does technical know-how. This post will help too. http://robertsiciliano.com/blog/2009/11/03/10-ways-to-prevent-social-media-scams/