The FBI is warning social media users to be careful with what they share as the United States continues to hunker down during the coronavirus pandemic.
The FBI San Francisco Division released the advisory on Thursday and said that certain “trends” can reveal crucial information that hackers can use to break into the accounts of social media users.
The “high school support” trend, which encourages users to share their old graduation photos to support the graduating class of 2020, was specifically singled out.
“Many people include the name of their schools, mascots, and graduation years, which are also often answers to common password retrieval security questions,” the statement said.
“Other examples include posting a picture of your first car; answering questions about your best friend; providing the name of your first pet; identifying your first concert, favorite restaurant, or favorite teacher; and tagging your mother, which may reveal her maiden name,” the statement added.
The FBI said social media users should reevaluate the security and privacy settings for their accounts to make them less vulnerable, including enabling protection such as two-factor authentication when possible.
