WISHING someone a happy birthday on Facebook increases your chances of being hacked.
A new survey has revealed one in five young people on social media have suffered after oversharing personal information online.
Bank cards, pin numbers and private passwords are among pieces of information carelessly being given out.
The Nationwide survey of more than 1,000 Brits aged between 16 and 25 is aiming to encourage people to think before they share.
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It found that over half (56%) have seen others share their current location, holiday updates (50%), birthday (42%), photos that identify where they work (38%), photos of where they study (37%) photos of their front door (24%), or bank account details (6%), potentially leaving them open to scammers.
More than eight in ten respondents said they know someone who overshares on social media, and more than a third have not set their social media accounts to fully private.
The banking giant has even released a video showing just how easy it is for fraudsters to get personal information out of unsuspecting 16 to 25 year olds.
Stuart Skinner, director of fraud at Nationwide, acknowledged how social media “is a great way” for people to connect with friends or family.
However, he added: “It’s important to think about the information you are sharing with others, so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
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“Wishing someone a happy birthday or sharing your location may seem innocent enough, but fraudsters can piece together information from various places, collecting enough to defraud people.
“To protect yourself, check privacy settings so only vetted friends can see updates, don’t give away too much information or anything you wouldn’t want a fraudster to see, have a strong password that doesn’t use any of your personal information and stop and think before sharing.”
If you fear that you may be an oversharer when online, take a quiz at oversharing.co.uk for help and advice.
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