Social Networking Websites - Play it Safe

Although social networking and online sites such as Facebook can be quite useful and are extremely popular, it is important to remember that sharing too much information online can be risky. In fact, there are several types of information that many people commonly share on social networking sites that should never be shared online.

If you are planning to go on vacation, never broadcast this online. Too many times the result of sharing vacation schedules and plans ends up in burglaries. Sharing your schedule of when you will not be home is never a good idea. It's better to just tell your friends through email or the phone and then broadcast that you went on vacation once you're back.

You should also never post your address, birthday, year of graduation or any other type of personal information on these sites, because doing so could put you at risk for identity theft. Information that is commonly used as "security questions" for passwords, such as your mother's maiden name, elementary school, or high school are also bad things to post online.

If you collect items of value, such as art, coins or jewelry, you should not discuss this on social networks either. If you do, you could put yourself at risk for theft. This also applies to talking about a new car you may have purchased, or any other information that could make your belongings tempting to criminals. The less information you share about your personal possessions, the better.

Even sites that are designed for professional networking can offer opportunities for problems. For example, if someone knows where you work, and has access to a list of your contacts, they could easily send damaging information about you to your employer, business contacts and customers.

Times have changed with the advent of social networking and excessive sharing of information online. However, it's always good to remember that human beings have not changed and that there are always scam artists out there that are just looking to get away with whatever they can. Whether you post something on a site that you wouldn't want your boss seeing or you disclose information about your whereabouts to the public, you're inviting a problem to occur.

As a general rule, you should never put anything on social networks that you wouldn't feel comfortable telling a total stranger. After all, you never really know who is going to read your information, or what they could possibly do with it.