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It’s Fake News!!! How Social Media Has Turned into a Weapon

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A lot of people just want to follow the crowd. You might not be one of them, but you have surely heard of some calling others “sheep” or cattle,” because they want to be led by another. I say it all the time, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this on the surface. The problem arises, however, when the people doing the leading are doing it for personal gain and when the followers blindly follow because they want to be lead and/or because it’s convenient and/or because they are stupid. In this day and age, the most common way to do this is via social media.

social mediaCambridge Analytica actually did this to win elections and do other things. For instance, it was first used in first world countries, and then with Brexit. It was also used in the 2016 US presidential election.

Here’s how it can go down and how social influence can be used to change the minds and hearts of others:

Company or country leaders began to realize that they could use social media to influence people. They could manipulate facts and post information that is just not true, and people began to believe it supported by confusing data and just plain wrong. This is often accomplished by using clickbait headlines, viral memes, and videos just filled with lies and emotion.

At a basic level, spreading this type of misinformation is called a confidence scam or confidence trick. When someone is confident in another person, they trust them. Trust is an inherent human trait required as an interdependent species. Without trust, we as a species would cease to exist. If women had no confidence in men and did not trust them, they would not allow themselves to be received. We wouldn’t be able to function unless we trust each other. The conman’s motivation is to influence the victim enough so that the victim is confident in the message. The conman wants to be trusted, of course, and when they are, well…it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

Of course, the outcome of this is that the conman wants to divide and conquer, or even rule the people who fall for this manipulation. When we try to define “divide and conquer,” we can say it is the practice of maintaining control of victims by encouraging them to disagree amongst themselves. In other words, the conman can tell both sides, “don’t trust them, trust me.”

People used to share disinformation by speech. However, when the press came into play, decades and decades ago, in the form of leaflets and pamphlets, books, political cartoons, newspapers, and magazines. Now, it generally spreads via social media, which is great for the conmen, because they know it is spread like wildfire.

When we look at the word “disinformation,” we find that it comes from a Russian word, dezinformatsiya. Joseph Stalin actually started using the word in 1923 within the KGB’s “Special Disinformation Office.” At the time, the word was defined as “false information with the intention to deceive public opinion.”

Remember, disinformation is meant to confuse the target and instill fear by blurring the lines between what is fact and what is fiction. The purpose is to spread conspiracy theories that isolate targets from other viewpoints, which ultimately creates a cloud of paranoia and confusion.

Disinformation on social media is born as a lie, and it is a lie that you believe to be true…and you agree with it, like it, and then share it with friends. Once you take on this role, you are just as much a perpetrator and that of a victim of everyone else who falls for it.

The Five P’s of Persuasion

When it comes to persuading others, there are five “P’s” that you should keep in mind:

Persuasion

When you have a particular belief, or a persuasion, it means that you already have made up your mind about something. One example of this is political persuasion. You might be under the Republican persuasion or the Democrat persuasion. You can also define persuasion as the act of influencing someone else to change their mind or to do something that they might now do without influence.

Psychographics

The word “psychographics” is the study of people based on criteria including their attitudes and aspirations. This especially comes into play when looking at market research. Psychographics is often used to describe someone based on their psychological attributes and it can be applied to the study of personality, attitudes, values, interests, opinions, and lifestyles.

Psychological Operations (PSYOPS)

PSYOPS, or psychological operations, can be used to explain information and indicators to an audience in a way that it influences their reasoning, motives, and emotions. Ultimately, it can affect the behavior of entire governments or organizations as well as groups and individuals.

Psychological Warfare

This is the practice that some use during a war or during a time where war could be a danger. It is made up of propaganda, threats or other non-violent techniques. It may also apply in times of political unrest in order to intimidate, demoralize, or influence the thinking or behaviors of an enemy.

Propaganda

You can define propaganda by saying it is information that is not objective and used to either further an agenda or influence a target audience. This is generally done by only presenting facts that can encourage a particular perception or using language to create an emotional response, not a rational response, to particular information. There are a several different types of propaganda:

  • White propaganda is a type of propaganda that is put out on purpose by a transparent source and credited by the source. Basically, it is a valid opinion of someone or something. A good example of this is a political ad that is created to discredit an opponent. The conclusion of this ad would say, “My name is Candidate Name, and I approve this message.”
  • Grey propaganda is a type of propaganda where the information is not credited nor expressed, and the source of the propaganda is hidden. The information doesn’t have to be accurate or inaccurate, as it might be true, or it might be false. One example of this is a small company putting an ad out about a competitor claiming said competitor uses poor quality materials. The information might be true, but the creator of the add doesn’t want to be known as the one who released the ad.
  • Black propaganda is totally false information that is created to seem like it was created by the entity that it is intended to discredit. For instance, you might see a video or meme that looks like it comes from Black Lives Matter that shows a black man attacking a white man. Obviously, this is something that Black Lives Matter would not want people to see, but if the video says, “The video brought to you by Black Lives Matter,” and it is spread from one person to another on Facebook, ultimately, this discredits the organization.

Now that you have all of this information available, there is one question that you have to ask yourself: Are you someone who is area of the disinformation that you is out there, or are you a sheep? MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.

Boom! 14 Different Disasters Caused by Social Media

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There are a number of ways that you or your small business could get caught up in a disaster on social media. Can you think of any? If not, that’s cool. Here are 14 that could be dangerous:social media

  1. A Horrific Reputation Online – Do you watch your company’s Facebook page? Do people post to it? Are you staff members posting? Even things that seem lighthearted at first, they could easily be taken in the wrong way by others.
  2. Racy Text or Images – If you or your employees are sharing racy text or images on their own social media pages, it could affect your business and your life. Though you cannot control what others are posting, you can absolutely educate them on how to use social media in an intelligent way. Generally, these things happen simply because of ignorance, but even something seemingly innocent could give your company or yourself a bad name.
  3. Fakers – You might not realize it, but there could be someone out there posing as your company or yourself. So, make sure to scope out the internet to see if anyone is using your company name or logo. There could even be fake websites out there. You can set up a Google Alert to notify you if your business name or personal name appears on the internet.
  4. Financial ID Theft – Though it might seem safe to post a picture of your new puppy on your company’s website, it could lead to a stolen identity. How? Well, if you post the photo, you will probably put the puppy’s name on it. A lot of people use the names of their pets as passwords or as answers to online security questions. Now, a scammer has one more piece of the puzzle that they can use to hack into your accounts.
  5. Photo GPS – When you post a photo to your social media account, make sure that the GPS is turned off. This way, a criminal cannot use it to locate you nor your employees. GPS is great, but it can also be dangerous.
  6. Vacations – Remind your staff about the dangers that can come when they post vacation information on their social media accounts. A burglar can easily use this information to find homes to break into. If they know, for example, that Sally in HR is on vacation, they know that she is not home, and now her house is a target.
  7. Corporate Snooping – There is also the possibility that a corporate snoop could set up a Facebook account, pose as a staff-member of a well-known company, and then pull in your real staff into a fake Facebook group. Then, they can feel free to talk about sensitive information that the criminal could then steal.
  8. Sex Offenders – Always know who you are chatting to online. Additionally, make sure to tell your kids or staff or staffs kids to be careful about talking with anyone new. This person could be a sex offender.
  9. Badmouthing – At some point, there will be a former or current employee who is disgruntled. They might feel like they were not terminated justly, or they might not like that they were passed over for a promotion. These are people who might try to get revenge by posting negative posts on your company social media pages.
  10. Bullying – Additionally, you might find that someone on your staff is a bully. Are they posting these types of bully messages on your social media? This could be bad for your business.
  11. Government Spying – Though it might sound crazy, there are instances where law enforcement agents can use social media to learn more about suspects in crimes.
  12. Fake Websites – You might also find that someone is setting up a fake website, and then pretending to be from your company. When a customer goes to your site, they could be giving them information about themselves, including their email address, account numbers, and phone numbers.
  13. Taking Over Accounts – Do you remember when the Associated Press and 60 Minutes had their Twitter accounts hacked? The AP account tweeted that President Obama was attacked. In response, the stock market tanked within minutes, causing people to lose millions of dollars because of a fake tweet.
  14. Liability – You can use the privacy settings on Facebook to hide certain posts, but that doesn’t mean they cannot be used in a future legal case. In fact, studies show that Facebook posts are used as evidence in 1 out of 5 cases of divorce.

What should you takeaway here? It is that there is no such thing as a social media account that it totally private. Someone who has bad intentions or even a post that isn’t meant to be malicious could ruin your or your company’s reputation.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity and Personal Protection security awareness training program.

Disinformation i.e. FAKE NEWS: How the Weaponization of Social Media Has You Conned

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This post takes a hard and honest look at whats happening right now. You either “get it” or you are a victim of whats going on. Victims who read this will trash it and deny the reality of what they read. Denial is warm and comfortable. The truth is cold and can hurt. And nobody likes to admit they are wrong, ever. So I expect plenty of haters.

“People are much like cattle or sheep; they just want to be led.”

The author of that controversial and maybe offensive quote is the author of this article. Maybe YOU aren’t like cattle or sheep, but most are. The problem with this sentiment is that some cowpokes and herders may use evil methods to lead their herd for their personal gain. In the digital age, this is done most effectively via disinformation weaponized with social media.

Here’s How It’s Done: 

Cambridge Analytica, on behalf of its clients, scientifically weaponized social media using disinformation to win elections. It was first tested in third world countries and then with Brexit and most recently to win the United States presidential election. Here’s a breakdown of what is believed to be the basis of how it used social influence to change hearts and minds.

Company leaders understood that the weaponization of social media is “the act of manipulating facts by spreading disinformation for propaganda”. This act is accomplished by;

  • a coordinated effort using viral memes,
  • emotionally charged videos,
  • and clickbait headlines.

Confidence Trick

Fundamentally, disinformation is a confidence trick or scam. The motivation of a conman is to influence their mark enough to gain the confidence of the victim. The conman wants to be trusted. Once the conman has the trust of their target, it’s like taking candy from a baby.

Divide and Conquer via Disinformation

The desired outcome of disinformation by its author is to divide and conquer or rule the persons who are manipulated by it. The Oxford definition of “divide and conquer” is the policy of “maintaining control over one’s subordinates or subjects by encouraging dissent between them”. In other words, from the perspective and motivation of the conman, “don’t trust them, trust me.”

I REPEAT: 

The desired outcome of disinformation by its author is to divide and conquer or rule the persons who are manipulated by it. The Oxford definition of “divide and conquer” is the policy of “maintaining control over one’s subordinates or subjects by encouraging dissent between them”. In other words, from the perspective and motivation of the conman, “don’t trust them, trust me.”

Can you see exactly how Divide and Conquer and don’t trust them, trust me is being played out every single day in our current political climate with the impeachment hearings? The administrations own cabinet, the people and professionals hired to do the job they are doing, are being deposed and are publicly confirming what was said in the call. The administration is saying don’t trust them, trust me. Thats pure Disinformation.

Disinformation i.e. Dezinformatsiya

Disinformation, fundamentally, is lying. Disinformation used to be spread by the spoken word only.  But with the invention of the printed word and the press, disinformation was spread using pamphlets, leaflets, books, magazines, political cartoons, and in planted clandestine newspaper articles. Agents of influence, political spies, and journalists can all be used to spread disinformation. Digitally, social media spreads disinformation like the proverbial wildfire.

The birth of the word “disinformation” comes from the Russian word (dez-inform-ahhT-see-ahh) dezinformatsiya. Joseph Stalin coined the term in 1923 derived from the title of the KGB black propaganda “special disinformation office” department. Disinformation was formally defined in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 1952 as “false information with the intention to deceive public opinion”.

Disinformation is meant to instill fear and confuse its intended target by blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Disinformation’s primary purpose is to spread conspiracy theories that isolate readers and viewers from alternative viewpoints to create a cloud of confusion and paranoia.

Disinformation in Mainstream Media

Can you see where in our culture, right now, which leg or legs of our media might isolate readers and viewers from alternative viewpoints to create a cloud of confusion and paranoia? If you can’t, then you are a victim of Disinformation. You are being led. You are sheep.

When you see disinformation, which is born a lie that you believe to be the truth, and you agree with it and then support it by liking it and sharing it, you are then a victim of it and a perpetrator of the confidence crime that the disinformation is.

The 5 P’s of Persuasion

Heres how minds are manipulated;

Persuasion

When you are of a particular belief…or persuasion…it means that you have already made up your mind. An example of this is of the Republican persuasion or the Democratic persuasion. Another definition of persuasion is the act of influencing another person to change their mind or to do something they might not do without your influence.

Psychographics

This is the study of people based on their aspirations, attitudes, and other criteria. It is especially the case in market research. The study of psychographics is a methodology that is used to describe a person based on their psychological attributes. The method has been applied to studying values, attitudes, personality, opinions, lifestyles, and interests.

Psychological Operations (PSYOPS)

Psychological operations, or PSYOPS, are used to convey certain pieces of indicators and information to an audience to influence their motives, objective reasoning, and emotions. It can ultimately affect the behavior of organizations, governments, individuals, and groups.

Psychological Warfare

The act of psychological warfare is the planned use of threats, propaganda, or other non-combat techniques during the danger of war or even during a war. It can also apply to any time of political unrest to demoralize, intimidate, or influence the behavior or thinking of the enemy.

Propaganda

Propaganda is defined as information that has no objectivity and is used to influence a specific audience or to further an agenda. This is often done by presenting selective facts to encourage a particular perception or synthesis, or by using loaded language to create an emotional instead of a rational response to the given information.

Propaganda Comes in Many Flavors.

White propaganda is information that is purposefully put out by a known transparent source and credited by its origin. The information intends to express a valid option of its author. An example would be a political ad put out by the “Jane Smith” political campaign designed to discredit her opponent and at the conclusion the video stating “Brought to you by the campaign to elect Jane Smith.”

Grey Propaganda is when the source of information is not expressed nor credited, and the identity of the source is concealed. The information shown does not have to be inaccurate as it could be true or false. An example might be a local small business putting out an ad about a competitor revealing the competitor uses inferior materials. This information may be correct, but the author, to avoid backlash, doesn’t want to admit they placed the ad.

Black propaganda is false information that is designed to look like it was created by those it is intended to discredit. For example, a meme or video that might appear to come from the Black Lives Matter network that may express images or video sanctioning black people attacking white people. Obviously, it is not in the best interests of a movement designed to accelerate civil rights to put out media of this kind. But if it says in the video “Brought to you by Black Lives Matter” and its spread via social media, it will inevitably spread disinformation to discredit the group.

Are You Sheep? 

The questions then are; Are you aware of what is disinformation? Or are you sheep? Don’t shoot the messenger please. I’m only trying to shine a light on the fraud that you might be a victim of.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.

Youth Suicide on the Rise…is Social Media to Blame?

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A startling new study shows that youth suicide is on the rise, and it has risen in dramatic fashion.

Data from the National Poison Data System shows that there were more than 1.6 million cases of kids from 10 to 24-years old attempting suicide by poison during the time between 2000 and 2018. A shocking 70 percent of these attempts were done by females. There was also a huge spike in the rate of attempts at suicide among those aged 10 to 15.

When we look at the individual years from 2000 to 2018, we can see that suicide rates were fairly steady…up until 2011. However, from 2011 and beyond, there has been a huge increase. In some cases, it is as much as 300 percent. So, we have to look at reasons for this.

During that time, there were several societal changes, which certainly could impact these numbers, specifically social media and smartphones becoming something that youth are using every day. There are several studies that can correlate this theory. In simple terms, these studies show an increase in suicide among youth aged 12 to 17 and an increase in social media screen time. However, this was no correlation between the two when looking at suicide rates among adults.

This author personally knows, or sadly knew many who have committed suicide and they range in ages from 10 years into adulthood. All had one thing in common, and insatiable appetite for social media use. There is article after article that links social media use with depression. When many of us are on social media, our inclination is to compare ourselves to others. A quote that rings true is “Comparison is the thief of joy” which is so sadly true.

This study does not totally nor unequivocally establish that social media use causes suicide, of course, but there is certainly a clear connection. When you are looking at more than a million kids who are at risk of suicide, it is important that parents understand this. Everyone has a tough time in their teen years, which parents understand, but what they don’t understand is being a teenager and totally connected to their peers via digital devices 24/7 with many of their peers being MEAN to them!  Doctors, who are supposed to help, don’t understand the digital aspect of this, either.

The findings of these studies are also in line with other research on suicide, which is the second leading cause of death for people from age 10 to 24. A tween or teen will full unfettered access to a smartphone and social media is the equivalent of handing them the keys to the car prior to knowing how to drive or even giving them a loaded gun.

A separate study as reported by HuffPo shows a great correlation to all of this, too. In this study, which looked at emergency room records, it was noted that suicide attempts as well as suicidal thoughts doubled from 2005 to 2017. More than 40 percent of these were for children from 5 to 12-years old.

All of these studies also show that parents are pretty clueless about this. In fact, research shows that about 50 percent of parents who have children who have considered suicide are totally in the dark about it.

Something has got to be done about this, of course, before it gets out of (actually it already is) control. Support and awareness about mental health is certainly a step in the right direction, but parents also must be aware of the great increase of suicide and attempted suicide rates among teens and realize that their child is just at risk of this as any other children. Parents can also do things like limiting their children’s access to medications in the home. It is also important for parents to learn the warning signs and understand that even young kids, who are not yet teenagers, can still have thoughts of suicide. Talking to your kids about it is always a good idea. Taking their phone away is a better idea. Adults too. Stop the madness!

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video

14 Social Media Disasters Ready to Strike

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There are many ways that you or a small business could get caught up in a social media disaster. Can you think of any off the top of your head? If you are like most of us, probably not. Here are 14 ways that you could be in danger:

social-media-privacy-security

  1. A Terrible Online Reputation – Do you keep a watchful eye on you or your business’ Facebook page? Are people posting to it? Are your staff? Even things that seem good-natured at first can be taken the wrong way by friends or potential customers.
  2. Racy Images or Text – If you or your employees are sharing racy text or images on social media, it could negatively affect your life or business. Though you definitely can’t control what they are posting, you can certainly educate them on the smart use of social media. Typically, these things happen because someone is ignorant about it, not feeling malicious. Even something as innocent as sharing a scantily clad photo of themselves while at work or play could give you or your company a bad name.
  3. Imposters – You might be surprised, but there could be someone out there posing as you or your business. So, make sure to patrol the internet to see if anyone is using your company’s logo or name. This even includes phony websites. Set up a Google Alert to notify you if your name or your business name appears online.
  4. Financial Identity Theft – It might seem harmless to post a photo of your employee’s puppy on your company website, but it could lead to financial identity theft. How? Well, if you post the photo, you surely would post the name of the cute little guy, and many people use their pet’s names as their passwords or answers to security questions. With that name, now identity thieves could have one more piece of the pie that they will use to hack into a financial account. Post pics of puppies all day long, just don’t use their names.
  5. Photo Geo Tracking – When you post photos, make sure that the GPS technology is off. This way, criminals can’t use it to find you or your employees addresses. Yes, GPS technology can save lives, but it can also ruin them.
  6. Robberies at Home – Make sure to educate your family or staff about the dangers associated with posting business or vacation travel information on social media. Burglars often use social media as a way to find a good house to break into. If they know Bob in accounting is out of the office and on vacation, they also know that he is likely not home, making his house a target.
  7. Corporate Snoops – It’s also possible that a spy could set up a page on Facebook, post as an employee of a well-known company or other branch, and then attract your real employees to a fake group. This way, he knows that they could give him sensitive information about your business, as they see him as trustworthy.
  8. Sex Offenders – Know who you are talking to online. Also, make sure to tell your staff to be careful when communicating with someone new. This person could be a sex offender, or worse.
  9. Attack of the Badmouth – At some point or another, you will get a disgruntled employee. Perhaps this person believes that they were unjustly terminated, or maybe they still even work for you. Employees who believe they have been “picked on” might try to get revenge by posting a bad review or blog about your company.
  10. Bullies – You might also find that one of your friends or employees is a bully. Are they posting bullying comments on your social media sites? If so, it could be bad for business.
  11. Government Spies – Even if it seems outlandish, many reports say that there are certainly law enforcement agents of the U.S. government that use social media to learn more about criminal suspects.
  12. Fake Sites – Someone could set up a fake site and pretend that they are from your business. When customers go to that site, they unknowingly give information about themselves, such as account numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers. Now, the bad guys have access to this information.
  13. Account Takeovers – You might remember when the show 60 Minutes, the Associated Press and others had their Twitter account hacked. The AP tweet that got out, claimed that then President Obama had been attacked at the White House. The stock market dropped significantly causing billions in losses as a result. If it can happen to the AP, it can certainly happen to you.
  14. Liability – Though you can use Facebook’s privacy settings to hide posts, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be used in some type of legal case. And studies show that Facebook is being used as evidence in 1 out of 5 divorce cases.

What is the takeaway here? It’s that there is no such thing as a fully private Facebook page just because you might have all of the privacy tools in use. A person with bad intentions, or your own ill conceived posts or a skilled hacker can still get in and ruin your good earned reputation.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

How to Delete Yourself from Social Media

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Have you been thinking that it’s time to make the drastic choice to remove yourself from social media? Most of us were quick to join the social media bandwagon, but these days, you might have worries about privacy. Though it’s possible to delete yourself from social media, the process isn’t easy, and it might not be totally foolproof.

Why Do You Want to Leave?

Before getting into how to delete yourself from social media, it’s important to ask yourself why you want to leave. Experts say totally deleting yourself might not be the best move. For instance, a potential employer, who will more than likely search for you on social media sites, especially LinkedIn, might wonder what you are trying to hide. There is also the fact that removing yourself from social media can make you look boring, unhip, or illegitimate.

Deleting Your Accounts

If you are sure that you want to delete your social media accounts, there are sites that you can use to find out how. These include:

Are Deleted Accounts Really Deleted?

Even if you have deleted your social media accounts, it’s important to make sure that you are fully deleting them or simply deactivating them. Some sites, even after you delete the accounts, will continue to retain the data you supplied.

Delete All Social Media, Not Just The Big Four

If you are serious about deleting your social media account, make sure that you are looking beyond the big four: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. Other sites have your data, too, including sites like Flickr, dating sites, blogs, support forums, Amazon, eBay, etc. There are also old social media sites you might not use anymore, like MySpace. Whether you have signed in lately or not, your old MySpace could be lurking out there.

What You Will Lose…and Gain…From Deleting Social Media Accounts

You will lose and gain when you delete your social media accounts. You stand to lose your marketing presence, for one, and you might not be able to go back. You also might lose touch with friends and family, or your sense of community. On the flip side, though, you will gain more time and probably have less anxiety.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Parents Beware of Finstagram

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You have surely heard of Instagram, the photo sharing social network, but what about “Finstagram?” If you are like most parents, you have rules about the social media practices of your kids. However, once you learn about Finstagram, those might all go out the window.

When you combine the words “fake” and “Instagram,” you get Finstagram. Essentially, these are fake, or alternative, Instagram accounts that are created by teens, for the most part. These accounts can be used for harmless laughs, such as sharing embarrassing pictures with your close circle of friends, or for harmful deeds, such as hiding alcohol or drug use from parents. Finstagram accounts are also commonly used for bullying.

You can look at your child’s Instagram account and see the innocent angel that you believe you have raised. But, do they have a Finstagram account that shows a different side? It’s possible, and you might even be able to find it by using the Find Friends feature on the software. Of course, it’s possible that your child has linked their Finstagram to a new email address or even name.

On top of all of this, kids are using Finstagram accounts to do things that would never be acceptable on their “real” Instagram accounts. For instance, there have been instances where these fake accounts are used to post inappropriate or altered photos of their classmates in inappropriate situations. In some cases, things get so serious that the schools, themselves, have to contact Instagram to get the accounts shut down.

Even if you think that you have nothing to worry about with your own kids, it might be worth it to do a check on them. You can certainly ask your child if they have an account, and they might be forthcoming and tell you. Odds are, however, that they won’t. In fact, about 90% of Finstagram accounts are unknown, so it is the parent’s responsibility to look for the signs.

Parent should have all passcodes to access the device and its applications. Or the child can’t have a phone. Non-negotiable. Done deal.

Sit down with your child to talk about their usage of social media, and the repercussions of their actions on social media. You also might want to talk to other parents you know about Finstagram accounts. These accounts might be for innocent fun, but they could also ruin someone’s life.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Investigators Using Social Media to Find Missing Children

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Gone are the days when social media is only used to share what you had for dinner or announcing to the world that you are headed to the gym. But social media has become a platform for any and everyone to say what’s on their mind, and sometimes that’s great, but all too often it isn’t. Social is significantly lacking in decorum. But at least some are using social for good.

These days, law enforcement is using social media to find missing children.

Washington, DC police are leading the way on this. In 2017, alone, the district is averaging about 190 missing kids a month. By using social media, information about the children is getting out quickly. Previous to this, the district was issuing press releases, but with social media, there are now thousands of people getting information about these children.

This new way of spreading the word is helping to find missing children, for example a Twitter user recently created a screenshot of several missing person’s flyers. She then shared the tweet with her followers, and it received over 108,000 retweets. It also, however, raised the red flag that these girls might be the victims of a human-trafficking scheme.

DC police admits that missing children are vulnerable to this type of exploitation, but are quick to point out that there is no evidence that these missing people were linked to any type of known human trafficking scheme.

Other groups, such as the Black and Missing Foundation, are also using social media to share leads, but still use traditional media, too. For instance, in 2012, a missing teen in New York was found in a matter of hours after her story appeared on the television show, The View.

Thanks to this new way of making the public aware of missing kids, DC police are seeing results. During the last two weeks of March, for instance, eight children were found after their stories were shared on social media.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Stop being a Social Media Idiot

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Leave personal details off your Facebook page.

14DDoes the whole world—or even your private circle, many of whom you haven’t seen in person for years, or even at all—have to know you’re laid up from hernia surgery (i.e., vulnerable, defenseless)?

Try this experiment for a week: Assume that the only visitors to your Facebook are 1) future possible employers, 2) master gossip spreaders and reputation bashers, and 3) your future in-laws (if you’re not married). This should really change the game plan of how you post.

Never send naked photos of yourself.

Not even to your significant other. After all, in many cases of leaked nude images…the significant other is the leaker! If your lovey-dove wants to see you in your birthday suit, then present yourself that way in person—after you know for sure all the cameras in the room are turned off.

Enough with the selfies.

It’s gotten to a point where all selfies look alike: Some doofus holding up the phone and staring INTO the phone. Whatever happened to the nice images of yesteryear, where someone, posing nicely, was facing the viewer? Selfies are fine if you’re showing off your abs when the selfie next to it of 90 days ago shows the Pillsbury Dough Boy, but please, nobody is special enough to justify endless selfies, including those for which you corralled a bunch of people to take part in it.

Instagram is not for food images.

Don’t waste your time. Think “borrrrrring!” Who really wants to see your beet salad? If you want to promote your recipe skills, start a website.

“Like” only recent posts.

Nobody pays attention to likes on old posts.

Cross out cross-posting.

Post an item on your Snapchat story, then put it in a private message…NOT.

No ODRs, no oversnapping.

Avoid opening but not replying on Snapchat. Avoid double-snapping someone.

Say no to screengrabbing.

Read that again. Don’t grab a Snapchat unless you want the sender to know who did it.

For parents…

Be mindful of commenting on your teenagers’ pages. Be sincere if you must, like a congratulations for qualifying for the state wrestling finals.

Robert Siciliano CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Hacking the CEO with Social Media

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If the super big wigs could get their social media accounts hacked, you can too. If you can believe it, the Twitter accounts of the following were recently hacked:14D

  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai
  • Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
  • Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe
  • Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey

Shouldn’t these CEOs know how to prevent getting hacked? One little slip could let in the cybercriminals: reusing the same password.

Times have really changed. During the good ‘ol days, employees barely knew the CEO. Sometimes he was faceless, and at most, they received form letters from him…or her. Nowadays, company workers know the names of the CEO’s grandkids, new puppy, where they spent their last vacation, complete with photos.

CEOs want a human connection to their company’s worker bees and hence, many are very active on social media—so active, in fact, that they hardly think of security…like using old passwords for new accounts and/or using the same password for multiple accounts…and/or using an easily crackable password.

Other mistakes CEOs make:

  • Posting personal information—way too much, more than enough for hackers to use against them.
  • This includes names of kids and vacation destinations, details about hobbies, relatives and other personal data.
  • Inclusion of personal information on a professional social media profile.

That may all sound innocent and just a way for CEOs to humanize themselves, but the more personal information they share with the world, the easier it is for cybercriminals to bust in. Crooks can often easily obtain the CEO’s e-mail and send a message that appears innocent, but has a link or attachment that the recipient is lured into clicking.

Once clicked, the attachment or e-mail unleashes malware, giving the crook control of the CEO’s computer. So even if the CEO has a unique and very strong and long password for each social media account, all it takes is a moment of having their guard down and hastily clicking a malicious link or attachment to get infected.

The hacker may have many motives for breaking into an account, and this includes posing as the CEO and posting items on the social media account with the hopes of damaging the CEO’s reputation.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.