Hackers are using Facebook quizzes to trick people into providing personal information.
Sri Sridharan, managing director at the Florida Center for Cybersecurity, said hackers want to use the information to make money.
“It seems harmless, but you never know who’s really asking you for that information,” he said.
Sridharan said hackers can use quizzes to disguise malicious links. Some hackers will connect to Facebook accounts in order to extract data; they can even trick people into downloading malware.
“The more they know about you, the more ways they can trick you into doing something like clicking on a link you should not click on,” said Sridharan.
Before you click on that next quiz, check out these seven tips from the Florida Center for Cybersecurity:
- Only take quizzes from reputable sources that protect your data.
- Hover over hyperlinks before you click on them to see if the URL appears suspicious.
- Open any web links from your browser independently of the social media website or use a link scanner.
- Treat your email address and login credentials just like you would cash; it’s that valuable.
- Report scams through the applicable social media sites.
- Be wary of links posted by friends that seem unusually sensational. Instead of clicking on the link, go to a trusted new source and search for the story there.
- Be wary of Internet quizzes or polls that require you to sign in or pull personal information. Why? You don’t know who they are sharing this information with. For example: What street did you grow up on is a common bank security questions. To be super safe, stick to traditional quizzes in printed magazines.
Source (WFLA/WOOD)