Beware of “Fun” Social Media Quizes

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with and have fun with friends and family members. From time to time, you may be asked to take a fun quiz – perhaps a personality test, a quick survey to find out which celebrity you are most like, or something similar. While they may seem like innocent time-wasters, the Better Business Bureau cautions that they are sometimes used by crooks to gather information they can use to rob from you or steal your identity.

Posts on social media that ask you to answer simple questions may also be an attempt to get information that can be used to access your accounts. “Your superhero name is the name of your first pet and your first car.” Information like pets’ names, first cars, schools attended, the street you grew up on, your mother’s maiden name, favorite foods, and others are frequently used by banks and other secure sites to verify your identity if you forget your password. Scammers make posts like these to get information they can use to hijack your accounts.

Sometimes, these posts are shared by your friends. While it may seem like light-hearted fun between people who know each other well, you should consider everyone who can see the post and your responses.

The Better Business Bureau offers these tips to avoid social media scams:

• Before answering a quiz, figure out who created it. Is it a brand you trust?
• Review the privacy setting of the post and the account making the post. If it’s set to public, don’t respond. Even posts that are configured for only friends to see may still be visible to people you don’t know.
• Set your social media accounts to private and remove personal details like your phone number and home address from your public profiles.
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know. Also, be wary of duplicate friend requests from people you are already connected with.

---

---