ARLINGTON, Va. — We've all seen our timelines flooded with old graduation photos the last few days. It has been done as a symbol of solidarity with the 2020 graduating class facing the possible cancellation of their commencement ceremony.
But now, the Better Business Bureau is warning against the trend, saying that it could provide scammers with important information that's used in many common online security questions.
The pictures tell scammers what high school you went to and what year you graduated. The BBB says things like this aren't uncommon. Other social media trends, like sharing the cars you've owned or your favorite athletes fall under the same umbrella. Even if they're not directly items asked about in security questions, they're commonly used in passwords.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office posted a similar warning on their Facebook page to highlight some other viral, yet potentially security compromising social media trends:
To help keep yourself safe, the BBB recommends three easy tips:
- Resist the urge to share your personal info with these viral trends.
- Check your security settings. Even if you think your security is pretty high, your posts may be seen in more places than you think.
- If you're worried you've shared compromising info, change your passwords or security questions.
We'll find plenty of other ways to honor the Class of 2020.