We know a lot about cyber crime. We know that we're most likely to be hacked and have our data stolen by a virus or a hacker somewhere, and we're wary about where we use our credit cards online. We know a lot about cyber crime, except we really don't.
What most of us don't realize is that most cyber crime isn't the work of viruses, phishing, hacking, or any of that other high tech stuff we don't understand. Most cyber crime is the result of voluntary information that we are increasingly sharing on the internet, and information that any of us can voluntarily cut off at any time.
More common than hacking, phishing, data mining, identify theft, or other big fears is the threat of someone using more "normal" information against you. 54% of burglars say that posting your status and whereabouts on social media is a victim's biggest mistake. By broadcasting to people that you are away from home, you are advertising that you are leaving your home unprotected. 78% of burglars admit to using Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Google Street View to select victim's homes. Although there isn't much you can do about Google Street View, you can choose how much you share on other social media websites. All the information posted online, no matter how mundane it seems, can be potentially used against you by the right person sitting and waiting for you to make it available to them.
Even more shocking is learning that the most common social media related crime is sex crime. 33% of all internet-related sex crimes were instigated through social media. When the sex crime was against a minor, there was a 50% chance that photos or information of the victim were obtained from the victim's social media profile. A surprising account of Facebook users are our children, those most at risk. Of all Facebook users, too few are aware of privacy settings or know how to use them.
The surprising statistics in the picture should be all you need to make you log into your social media account and check the information you've put out there. In this day, it is a matter of your personal security.
[Via: Instant Checkmate]