Ellen PhillipsPersonal finance site TheBalance.com offers ways to help protect our identity, property and person.
* Burglary. Folks who publicize vacations or announce funeral or wedding arrangements may fall into the hands of crooks. While it's tempting to post that gorgeous picture of you standing in front of the Sistine Chapel or to publicize your aunt's funeral date for out-of-town visitors, these tidbits are what burglars are looking for.
* Contest scams. Click the link and a fake page turns up. One such scam claimed that those who shared the link would get a $1,000 IKEA gift card. More than 40,000 people fell into the trap. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
* Corporate spying. Criminals use Facebook to act like an employee of a corporation, then set up a Facebook group and invite other employees to join. Once the unsuspecting employees do, crooks can spy on the company from within.
* Financial identity theft. If a thief figures out your FB password, chances are he can figure out your bank account password. Limit what you post, and turn up your privacy settings. To prevent social media theft, set up an account on various social media sites. Google yourself, and set up Google alerts. Websites such as Knowem.com make it easier to grab your name across hundreds of sites.
* Geo-stalking. Never turn on your location settings and, if on, turn them off.
* Government spying. Government agents use social networking sites to befriend suspects of crime for information. Never post anything you wouldn't want your granny to read, much less the FBI.
* Viral videos. Pornography is huge on social media. Click on a video, and you will be asked to update your video player. Once you do, it downloads and installs a virus onto your system and often shares the scam with your friends. Type the name of the video into Google, and if it doesn't have a YouTube link or a legitimate site, it could be a scam.
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com