Identity Theft in the Age of Selfies: How to Protect Your Online Presence. That’s exactly what we will discuss in this article today.
It’s not exactly rocket science and by following a few simple steps, you can be pretty much untouchable.
The best part? Most of the tips do not require any investment or money from your end. They’re free to implement and do not require any special expertise.
Table of Contents
What is Identity theft?
You may be aware of what selfies are but do you know what identity theft is? It’s probably the biggest threat to your online presence.
As the name suggests, it’s the theft of your identity. Someone else pretends to be you, interacts with your friends, family, and other parties impersonating you, and may sometimes lead to fatal outcomes.
There are multiple ways this can be done.
- Fake accounts using your photos: The most common way is the impersonator creates a fake account claiming to be you. They then start engaging with everyone around you being you.
- Hacking your accounts: At times, it’s not your identity that’s hacked but rather your account. Once the hacker has a hold of your account, they get all the connections you’ve made and interacted with!
What damages can identify theft cause you?
So, someone uses your photos, not a lot of harm, or is there? Well, this may have life-threatening consequences at its worst. Even in the best-case scenario, your reputation can still be on the line if you fall victim to Social media identity theft:
- Fake documents using your selfies/photos: It’s not that hard to create a fake driver’s license/SSN/or any other document once someone has your photo. These documents, while mostly used just on paper and aren’t database-backed may still cause enough damage. In fact, at times, these are even registered in the database depending on who’s using them.
- Fraud: Imagine you posting “My mom is in the emergency, need $100 stat”. If posted from your original account, at least a few friends are bound to send money. Even if posted from a new, fake account, it’s “you” posting it hence tarnishing your image. And this is just one of the billions of possible things that can be done.
- Posting sensitive/offensive content: Someone can post content that may hurt someone’s religious, political, or other beliefs. Making derogatory statements, threats or just false information is something else these hackers like to do.
- Financial and legal problems: Those with a bit more access and connections may use your identity to open bank accounts, take out loans, or cause other such life-threatening problems for you.
How to safeguard your online presence
Deleting all your social media accounts for protecting your online identity isn’t exactly the smartest solution, is it?
Fortunately, there are a few simpler ways to protect your online presence from identity thieves:
- Opt for private accounts: On Instagram and many other social media platforms, you can get a “private” account. Every new follower must be approved by you before following you. This makes sure that only those you trust have access to your selfies, photos, and all other posts.
- Selective audience: If your social media doesn’t allow private accounts or you don’t want to create one, you can still have private albums or selective viewing. You can keep your account public, but post selfies and other personal moments only to a selected group of people.
- Less revealing information: If you must post photos publicly, try to include as little other information as possible. This includes location, some hoarding in the background, and anything else that can be used to identify other information about you.
- Search for your name: This is a classic and helps find imposters. On all social networks, simply search for your name. You may find profiles using your photo and name.
Final words
That’s about it folks. I’m certain you’ve got a decent idea of how to protect your online identity by now. I’m not saying stop taking selfies. That’s like saying stop going out cause there are murderers out there. Rather, the tips mentioned here should allow you to continue living your life without compromising with your selfies.
Another slightly off-topic tip is to start using a VPN. It helps keep your IP address hidden which protects your location and other details.
