We’ve all seen the quizzes, games, and survey questions asked on social media such as what was your first car, your pet’s name, your high school mascot, which character are you most like, and so on.

Personality tests, surveys, and online quizzes ask seemingly innocent questions, but the more information you share online over a public forum like Facebook – the more you risk it being misused. Scammers could do a lot of damage with just a few answers that give away your personal information, especially details that are often used as answers for online security questions.

This type of scam is called phishing, which is the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages that appear to be from reputable companies in order to get individuals to reveal their personal information.

What can scammers do with the answers to your online quiz questions?

• Use your quiz or survey answers to try and reset your online accounts and passwords.
• Potentially gain access to your bank account once they have the answers to your security questions that you have posted online.
• Hack into your social media accounts by being able to answer security questions from online quiz responses, and then send malware links to your followers with another shared “quiz.”

Here are some ways you can protect your personal information on social media:

• Maintain strong passwords and use multi-factor authentication when logging into your social media and online accounts.
• Keep your social media profiles private – anyone can see what you are posting if you have a public page, and you won’t know who’s looking. Also refrain from listing your personal contact information and where you live on your social media accounts.
• Steer clear of online quizzes and questions, or don’t answer them truthfully using the same answers you would use in online banking or other related account security questions.
• When online accounts do require security questions, treat these answers like you would with other secure account passwords. Do not share this information with anyone.

If you suspect an online quiz might be a phishing scam, report it to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/

At First Financial, our goal is to help protect our members from scams and identity theft. If you have any concerns or questions about any of your First Financial accounts, please call member services at 732.312.1500 or visit one of our branches.

Article Source: FTC.gov