How to protect your social media accounts

Social media serves as a fantastic tool to connect with family and friends and stay updated on current events. However, it is very important to understand how to manage your security and privacy settings on your accounts. By enabling the security and privacy settings on your account you can help protect your personal information from cyber criminals.

Social Media Platforms

Each platform has its own guidance to help you protect your information. Click the below links to read each of the major platforms information:

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your accounts

Two-factor authentication (2FA or also sometimes referred to as two-step verification 2SV) offers an extra layer of security by confirming your identity when accessing online services like social media, banking or email. Even if a cyber criminal knows your password they won’t be able to access your accounts that have 2FA eabled.

The below advises you on how to enable 2FA for the major platforms:

To learn more about Two-Factor Authentication read our guidance

Digital footprints

Digital footprint refers to a user’s distinct set of traceable digital activities, actions, contribution and interactions visual on the internet or digital devices. This digital trail can be categorised as either passive or active. Passive includes a user’s browsing history and data saved as cookies. Active is data intentionally shared by a user on websites or social media.

Digital footprints also apply to organisations not just individuals.

Understanding your digital footprint

When using social media, it's important to be cautious as not everyone may be who they claim to be. Take a moment to verify the identity of individuals before accepting friend requests or following them. Additionally, consider your digital footprint, which is all the information you share online, such as photos and status updates. This information can be exploited by criminals for identity theft or to create convincing phishing messages. Here are some tips to stay safe:

Be mindful of what you post and who can view it. Adjust privacy settings to control who can access your content.

Evaluate the relevance of the information you share with your followers and friends, while being cautious about providing unnecessary details that could be exploited by cyber criminals.

Stay informed about how you are portrayed online by friends, colleagues, and other contacts.

If you want to learn more about digital footprints, the National Protective Security Authority’s (NPSA) Digital Footprint Campaign contains useful information and materials.

Fake accounts: How to spot and report

It is becoming much more common to see fake profiles on social media. These accounts are created by scammers who will also try and hack real accounts to engage in fraudulent activities. Many social media platforms offer verification processes, like verified badges on Instagram and Facebook, to distinguish real accounts from fake ones impersonating famous individuals. Red flags to keep an eye out for:

  • Account creation dates
  • Strange names (Such as account names that contain random numbers and letters)
  • The number of friends or followers on the account

Scammers don’t just target celebrities, they target any account that they can gain access to. Therefore, if you notice any suspicious activity from a family member or friends account, reach out to them in another way such as a phone call in case their account has been hacked. If their account has been hacked they should follow our guidance on how to recover a hacked account.

Each provider has their own reporting function for fake profiles. These can be reported to;