Joe Campana is an expert on identity theft, privacy, and information security. He urges us to think twice before posting anything online — photos, text, audio, anything. Once it’s out there, it’s there forever.
“If you wouldn’t put it on a resume, a college application, or a poster, you wouldn’t hang it on your locker or your dorm room door, then you shouldn’t post it.”
And, he says, think about how your friends’ or families’ privacy would also be compromised. Campana explains, you shouldn’t be friends online with people you don’t know in the real world. (Video– Privacy PSA)
He says personally identifiable information should be used sparingly, if at all.
“Your last name shouldn’t be posted, your phone numbers, home address, date of birth, school, team names, travel plans, social security numbers, passwords, those kinds of things should never be posted online.”
Comments and photos on the web can be viewed, forwarded, copied, saved, and multiplied by millions of people and stored on millions of computers — forever. Campana says what you post CAN hurt you. Imagine what your family or a potential employer could easily find out about you. It’s estimated that around 10-million Americans have their identity compromised each year. About 100-thousand people in Wisconsin are victims of identity theft and they don’t even report it.
NOTE: On Data Privacy Day, the United States and 27 European countries are promoting general awareness and education among public and business communities on a variety of topics such as identity theft, national security, social networking, information security, data destruction and data transfers.
Joe Campana is the author of Privacy MakeOver: The Essential Guide to Best Practices Jackie Johnson report 1:29