People are currently posting their graduation photos online following the newly surfaced trend that could actually leave them vulnerable to most hackers, according to the Better Business Bureau.
This trend has started as a way for support to be given to the Class of 2020, whose graduation celebrations were actually migrated online, been canceled, or even postponed indefinitely due to this global pandemic known as the coronavirus.
Due to these photos being widely available, scammers have been able to set up certain identities using the existing photos and further their illicit moves.
The ongoing trend
The now ongoing trend involves posting a certain high school senior portrait online while the post is accompanied with the hashtag #Classof2020. The picture also includes identifying details about the person which includes which school they attended as well as what year they graduated.
These are a few of the basic details which can be used by "scammers or hackers" in order for them to answer the "common online security questions" according to BBB in a certain statement that was aimed to urge people to be cognizant of the risk of voluntarily participating in this trend.
According to BBB, all it actually takes is an internet search to reveal vital information about a certain individual which involves family members, the individuals real name, birthdate, or even where that person resides.
This specific nonprofit organization has instructed people to actually review and change their own security settings which include the visibility of the posts so only their friends would be given access to see the posts. Updating certain answers to the security questions are also recommended if they cannot really resist the temptation of following the trend.
How scammers usually behave
BBB reports that this is actually not actually the first time that hackers have somehow managed to turn a harmless online game into a personal information goldmine. There have also been other viral posts in the past that asks for a person's private information about the cars they own, favorite athletes, and even the top 10 favorite television shows which can actually be mined for certain nefarious use.
Now that the Class of 2020 won't be experiencing any of the year-end traditions due to the coronavirus spreading, many are actually creating traditions of their own in order to commemorate their milestone. These commemorations have entertainingly included dressing up for virtual proms and even hosting their own virtual graduation ceremonies.
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The risk of putting your private information online is quite big especially since scammers and even hackers are lurking just around the corner. Certain information which you may think is useless could actually be something that a scammer could use in order to create a false identity in order to prowl on other individuals with.
The fake identity could be used for other illicit or illegal activities like purchasing something illegal all the way to causing havoc by trolling.
