Are you wondering how to stay safe on Facebook? This guide will help you and explain why it’s so important to stay safe on social media. Facebook isn’t just the biggest social media platform in the world; it’s one of the biggest businesses on the planet. With over two billion active users, no other platform comes close to it. It’s also one of the few social media platforms where users provide personal information.
With such a massive volume of users, Facebook has, unfortunately, become a breeding ground for scams, fraud, and other internet threats. Millions of dollars are lost every year to scams on Facebook, particularly with Facebook Marketplace. Not only that, but the sheer amount of content means that some very offensive material can make its way to your timeline unexpectedly.
Keep reading to find out how to stay safe on Facebook and how you can do more to protect yourself on the social media platform.
Stay vigilant on Facebook Marketplace
Stick to the old rule that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers have a few different techniques, one of which involves posting items that don’t even exist for rock-bottom prices and encouraging bank transfers. Another is by posting an item as genuine and requesting a high price when the item is fake. This is particularly common amongst fashion items like purses and sneakers.
We’re not saying avoid Facebook Marketplace altogether, but be very careful. Never send cash to a user before meeting them, and don’t even engage with a seller if their profile doesn’t look genuine. If you have a bad feeling or the seller is suspicious in any way, please do not make a purchase as you may end up being scammed.
Adjust your privacy settings and preferences
Facebook collects a ton of information about its users. This is used for advertisement and sometimes even passed on to third-party companies. The good news is that you are in control of what you share with Facebook, but the bad news is that most people don’t realize this. Your data is valuable to Facebook, so they don’t advertise the fact that you can turn most of the settings off.
Head to the settings menu and choose the privacy option to make any changes to your preferences. This doesn’t just include adjusting what Facebook sees but also what others see. For example, you can decide whether or not you want to be searchable to other users and can exclude yourself from targeted advertisements. It’s also recommended that you review your settings every few months as things can change frequently.
Decline requests from people you don’t know
Friendship and romance scams are very common on Facebook. This is where a stranger befriends you or charms you into a romantic relationship. These people are not who they say they are and will go on to ask for money, favors, or even defraud you. You should be careful.
We recommend that you decline any friendship requests from people that you don’t know, especially those that have what looks like a fake profile. A fake profile could be one with little-to-no friends or pictures that have been taken straight from Google.
Be careful what you share
No matter how tight your privacy and security settings are, anything you post on Facebook has the opportunity to reach everybody. It could be shared, saved, or screenshotted, for example. This means that even if you post a ranting status that you go on to delete or unknowingly share any offensive content, it can follow you.
There have been cases of people losing their jobs over Facebook activity. So you should think carefully about what you post and who could see it. Of course, the same rule applies to every other social media platform.
Set content filters
There is an easy way to protect yourself from harmful or sensitive content, and this is by placing filters on what you want to see on Facebook. You can do this in your profile settings, and it’s the only way to guarantee that you’re not exposed to content you’d rather not see. This is also highly recommended for children to implement some parental control.
Don’t publish too much personal information
If you fill in your entire Facebook profile, you would have your name, town, date of birth, job, and much more visible to your connections and even those not connected to you. This makes it very easy for cybercriminals to steal your identity, take out loans, guess passwords, and more.
It’s recommended that you keep your Facebook profile to the bare minimum information so that your identity and privacy stay protected. However, if you do prefer to share some of the extra details, be sure to adjust your privacy settings as mentioned above so that you can at least limit who has access to your profile.
Use a strong password
It’s cybersecurity 101, but your Facebook password must be strong and not guessable. Avoid using any personal information in your passwords, such as dates of birth or names, and don’t make your Facebook password the same as every other password.
It’s also recommended that you change your password every couple of months to keep it fresh. You can also enable two-factor authentication that will require a code from a text message or push notification on your phone to be entered before logging in. Don’t worry about setting a complicated password and forgetting it; you can download a free password manager to prevent that.
Hi, I'm Cliff. I'm based in Cleveland, Ohio, with my wife and two kids.
I have a keen interest in cybersecurity and have been writing about it for around a decade now. Due to my background in computer science, I am familiar ...
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