If you have decided to engage in social media platforms, then you must be very careful that you watch the digital data you’re leaving behind. This data can consist of all of the different websites a person has visited, photos and videos that have been shared, and just overall personal information shared online. Once this information has been shared on the Internet it is nearly impossible to remove it. This can cause individuals serious problems when the wrong information or too much is shared. Many colleges and employers try to look for peoples digital footprint to get a sense of who they truly are and if people leave an unprofessional trail behind, it will affect them in the long run. The digital footprint that people leave behind can also lead to things like identity theft and many more types of fraud. The reason for that is, people are sharing personal information without any concern about what other people can do with it. Some people go as far as sharing their full name, date of birth, phone number, and address on social media which can be dangerous.

People don’t realize that their disregards for this matter is not good and that this can really impact their life negatively. Identity theft is by far one of the most serious problems individuals can encounter in result of sharing too much personal information online. It is very difficult to get through and its definitely something that should not be taken likely. Having your identity stolen can cause you to have terrible credit. Once a fraudster gets a hold of your personal information like your social security number, they can open up credit cards in your name and create thousands of dollars in debt under your name. It can become so bad that the victim can even end up in jail. You never know what a person will do with your information, therefore you can expect the worse. There have been cases where victims where not able to fill their own prescriptions due to identity theft; this can be life threatening. That’s why people should try their best to make sure that they are not sharing too much personal information online, you never know whos lurking.

Ways in which you can avoid this is by ensuring that you always keep your passwords private and update them frequently. Making sure that you don’t share unnecessary personal information on your social media networks is key to preventing this problem. If you’re ever a victim of identity theft make sure that you check all of your bank account balances and lock any debit cards linked to them. Make sure you place a fraud alert with the national credit reporting agency so that an investigation is started right away. I would also recommend people check their credit reports frequently in case an account comes up that they do not recognize. the sooner fraudulent activity is recognized the sooner disputes can be filed and people can be on their way to fixing this problem. What would you do to keep your information safe?

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