It's good to share - but some things are best kept to yourself!

New research for Get Safe Online Week* has revealed that 21 people in the UK are defrauded every minute because of oversharing on social media.

Posted on 25 October 2018

Here are the top 10 things people think they overshare on social media:

  1. Too many posts (60%)
  2. Revealing or nudity-based photos (51%)
  3. Images of their passport (50%)
  4. Images of their wallet or purse (47%)
  5. Account login details (37%)
  6. Images of their driving licence (37%)
  7. Too many food photos (36%)
  8. Information about someone else (36%)
  9. Selfies (32%)
  10. Content from drunken nights out (31%)

We've teamed up with experts at Get Safe Online to bring you some tips to protect you from oversharing online:

  • Consider what you want to share with everyone and make sure you've set your social media accounts to private.
  • Never put personal information online that could be pieced together and used by a fraudster – for example, your age, birthday, address, workplace, first school, mother's maiden name, relatives' or pets' names, or other obvious passwords and answers to security questions.
  • When you enter your details on a website or app, always check the terms and conditions and be aware of what you're agreeing to others knowing about you or your account.
  • Don't advertise your absence to would-be burglars by posting and sharing photos of when you're away on holiday or business. Turn off location services in app settings on all of your devices.
  • What goes online, stays online. Pause before you post, so you don't embarrass, or otherwise harm, yourself or others. Did you know that 70%** of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring? Always ask friends if it's OK before posting photos of them, or their children.
  • Think about posts and photos you're sharing. Driving licences, passports, some letters and other documents contain sensitive information that a fraudster could use to impersonate you.

Find comprehensive, easy-to-follow advice about online safety at www.getsafeonline.org

* 3Gem conducted an online survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 18+ on behalf of Get Safe Online. The results are nationally representative

**Figures taken from a 2017 survey from CareerBuilders