It is difficult to survive without social media in the current digital landscape. It is required for almost all aspects of life, from staying in touch with friends and family to staying updated with the latest news and trends to applying for jobs, networking opportunities, and promoting your business and entertainment. The list goes on. If you don't have social media, we salute you for your conviction, but we're living in a digital age where it's hard to get by without social media. Social media presence is crucial for many reasons, but we aren't here to discuss the many benefits social media platforms can offer users.

While social media offers many benefits, using it can also be risky because it has made it ten times easier for hackers and malicious actors to compromise sensitive and confidential data. Social media has a lot of your valuable information, and malicious actors can easily exploit it for financial gain and identity theft. However, you need not worry because this guide will discuss some of the main social media risks and how to prevent them in 2024. So, if you're ready, let's get started.

Why Is It Essential To Protect Your Social Media Accounts?

Privacy concerns and data breaches have become increasingly common, so securing social media accounts is essential. Social media platforms don't make promises regarding your privacy and security, so you have to take the appropriate measures to ensure that your data does not fall into the wrong hands.

In late 2022, the U.S. government was urged to ban employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices because of data privacy concerns. Lawmakers felt that since a Chinese company owned TikTok, the Chinese government could use it to spy on people and learn valuable information about the U.S. government by spying on these employees' devices.

In July 2022, Twitter was hacked, and over 200 million users' email addresses were posted on the dark web. These email addresses were all the intel malicious actors needed to compromise the user's sensitive data. In May 2023, European Union regulators fined Meta a staggering USD 1.3 Billion. The European Data Protection Board stated that Meta violated EU privacy laws by sending European Facebook users' data to U.S. servers, which seriously violated their privacy. Because of these reasons, you must protect your social media, and we will discuss this in detail in the later sections.

You must maintain your social media privacy because it contains all your private information, which hackers can exploit. Some sensitive information can also be released unknowingly through cookies tracking your online activities, including browsing history, websites you've viewed, and financial details when purchasing online. All of this data is then collected and sorted according to user segments, and then which data brokers and advertisers sell and use for marketing purposes. Scammers and fraudsters can collect all of this information and gain access to your sensitive information for personal gain.

Some Interesting Social Media Safety Statistics You Need To Be Aware Of

• In 2021, more than 90,000 users were victims of social media fraud, which led to $770 million in losses, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
• In a 2021 study conducted by Pew Research, 41% of American users had faced online harassment, 75% of which occurred on social media sites.
• 63% of confirmed data breaches involve weak, default, or stolen passwords.
• 20% of millennials and 18% of Generation Z have had their identities stolen and compromised.
• 31% of people don't feel safe when they are online.
• 72% of people feel that their online social media activities are tracked and monitored.

Common Social Media Threats In 2024

Since a large amount of data is available on social media, malicious actors can exploit a lot of information on users for financial gain and identity theft. Here are some of the common risks that come with using social media and some of the significant risks include:

1) Data Mining & Identity Theft

Scammers and malicious actors don't require much information to steal a user's identity. All they have to do is start with all of the readily available information that's publicly available so that they can begin targeting victims. Scammers can collect usernames, email addresses, and phone numbers to begin targeting users with phishing scams. Unfortunately, users can be tricked into divulging sensitive information since these scammers pretend to be someone that the users know or trust or someone of a higher authority. Using these details already available on your social media can lead to these malicious actors getting your social security and credit card numbers.

2) Location Settings

Social media platforms have location app settings that can track users' whereabouts. Even if users turn off their location settings, other ways can target their location, such as using public networks, cell phone networks, and websites. According to Astrill VPN, it's crucial to implement adequate security tools like VPNs to ensure your location is not tracked. It's also a good idea to ensure your GPS location services are turned off.

3) Privacy Settings Loopholes

Unfortunately, social media platforms are not as private as users may perceive. For example, sharing something on social media with a close group of friends allows them to repost and share it with others. Your friends' friends will be able to see the content you share, which can stir up uncomfortable feelings since it wasn't your intention. Others now have access to your information, which you thought would stay private between you and your friends.

4) Harassment & Cyberbullying

Social media, unfortunately, makes it easier for people to become victims of cyberbullying and harassment. The perpetrators don't need to be hackers, and they don't need to gain access to your accounts to send you threatening messages. For instance, children who have social media accounts may have to face cyberbullying and mean comments from their classmates who are sending them threatening messages on social media. Doxxing, which is another form of cyberbullying, involves malicious actors purposefully sharing personal data about a person to cause them harm, which includes the person's address and phone number. They will encourage other people to harass this person.

5) False Information

Social media is the perfect getaway for many people to spread misinformation. Although many social media platforms have content moderation guidelines, it can take time for posts to get flagged. Sometimes, this misinformation can lead to someone's reputation getting tarnished, and online trolls send them a lot of hate, which is unjustified because this information was never verified, whether it's true or not. Double-check every piece of information before sending or believing everything you see on social media.

6) Malware & Viruses

Unfortunately, social media platforms are also used to deliver malware and viruses. This usually happens when users click on appealing ads, believing them to be legit. Still, their device gets infected with malware and viruses instead. Malicious actors will then take over the user's social media accounts and spread malware to the affected accounts and the accounts of all the user's friends and contacts. Investing in reliable anti-virus software is the most effective way to prevent this.

How To Enhance Your Privacy On Social Media?

Now that you're aware of some of the risks associated with using social media in 2024, we can begin addressing some of the most effective strategies to prevent these security threats and enhance your privacy so you can rest easy knowing your sensitive data is secure and protected.

• Invest in a VPN (Virtual Private Network) as it encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, keeping you safe and protected from online threats and secure when you're on a public network, as these are the most vulnerable to interception by malicious actors.
• Use strong passwords for all of your social media accounts. This will make it challenging for malicious actors to infiltrate your online accounts. When choosing a strong password, make sure it cannot be guessed easily, and use different passwords for all your online accounts. When choosing a strong password, ensure it contains an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, special characters, and numbers.
• Also, enable multi-factor authentication on your social media accounts. This means you must provide additional verification before allowing access to your online accounts. This online verification can be done in different ways, such as using an OTP (one-time password) sent to your email or phone number or biometric verification, such as fingerprints.
• Avoid clicking on any suspicious links when you're scrolling social media. These links can ultimately spread malware to your device. Ensure you verify their authenticity before entertaining any links and clicking on them.
• Ensure that you also disable the location settings or geolocation data on apps by going through the settings on your phone. This will guarantee that your whereabouts are not being tracked.
• Be careful what you post on social media. Don't share every aspect of your life, as this can compromise your privacy and lead to malicious actors exploiting your data. Only provide information that's absolutely necessary, and never post pictures of your home or locality.

Conclusion

Social media is a blessing today but can also be a curse, mainly because it has allowed malicious actors to compromise your privacy and security. By taking note of some common social media threats and then countering them by implementing adequate security strategies, you can protect your social media accounts from harm's way.

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