We hear a lot about social media and social networks these days.  The benefits are well known.  They make meeting and connecting with new people easy, and they facilitate easy communication between groups of friends and professional contacts.  But, what about the privacy risks involved?  Many users are not fully aware of the risks implied in making friends online, or in keeping in touch with old friends through this method.  In fact, this seems to be precisely what makes social networks the hunting ground of many criminals, especially in Russia. Russian investigators say it is important for users to know the risks of sharing -even with their friends- and to take appropriate precaution.

Experts in privacy state that when thinking about online risks, people often point out romance scams and advance fee fraud. Although romance scams are a major problem in Russia, the risks are not limited to romantic relationships, and they not always have to do with money.

For most social network users, as long as money is not part of the picture they are safe. Wrong! Many users share their lives, daily activities and even personal data on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others.  People post photographs of their homes, children, vacations and other important information all the time. Their full names, dates of birth and addresses are often included in their social media profiles. This means, that most of the times all this information is no longer private, and it no longer belongs to you. Facebook makes this very clear when stating in their terms that even after permanently deleting an account, some of the information you shared will remain there. Accepting a friend in any social network means not only that you are giving this person access to all the information that you share, but you are also giving them permission to share it with other people.

Sharing in these circumstances could easily transform into a chain of “shares” you cannot control. That is why, no matter where you are at, you can always end up watching the private wedding video of someone who married thousands of miles away from you, or watch the cute baby video that went viral without the parents’ consent or intention of it being seen by millions of people. Did you know that Facebook now shares all the personal information you filled out (where you work, study, live and where you are from) with page administrators when you send a message? But your information can easily end in the hands of criminals, as unfortunately many people have learned.

Sharing information over social networks  such as Facebook hands over ownership of your data, pictures and info to organizations which are not transparent.  The more you share on Facebook, the more at risk you are from online criminal, and the more Facebook makes money.

Regular users of social media sites should take steps to ensure their security, including checking their privacy settings, using secure passwords and password managers and not over-sharing details of their personal lives online. Even if you have a reduced amount of friends in your network, your information is still at risk.  You can even try meeting real friends in the real world, like old times!

If you meet a new friend online, an especially if your new friend comes from a high risk country like Russia, you should contact a reputable private investigator to conduct a background check investigation to make sure this person is legit and someone you can trust.

Keep the GPS / location on your devices off at all times. Also turn encryption and passwords on on your devices, so that if you lose a phone, or worse a tablet or laptop, you are not in danger of all your information being accessed by somebody you really wouldn’t want accessing it.

C. Wright
© 2016 Russia PI™

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