Louisiana Attorney General issued the following announcement on July 29.
What is your super hero name? Which cartoon character is your doppelganger? Do you have above-average intelligence? Answering these questions online may sound like an entertaining way to pass time, but Attorney General Jeff Landry is warning social media surveys and quizzes could be problematic.
“Online surveys and quizzes may seem harmless enough, but the truth is they can expose you to hackers and scammers,” said Attorney General Landry. “It is difficult to tell which are innocent fun and which are covers for bad actors trying to steal your identity or worse.”
In order to help citizens stay safe from potential dangers, Attorney General Landry offers the following tips for social media quiz takers and survey respondents:
- Be skeptical. Before answering a quiz, determine who created it. Be aware of brand impersonators. If you think something looks suspicious, do not click it.
- Check privacy settings. Review the platform's privacy settings and be strict about what information you share and with whom you are sharing it.
- Guard your profile. Do not reveal personal information like your phone number or home address and limit the people who may view your profile’s other content.
- Never answer security questions. Be careful to not give away answers to common security questions such as your mother’s maiden name, the name of your first pet, your birth town, your childhood street address, your previously owned vehicles, your favorite food, or the name of your elementary school.
- Minimize digital footprint. Find your old accounts, delete your personal information, and deactivate the accounts.
- Stay protected. Regularly update your operating system and use antivirus software that provides malware, spyware, and adware protection.
Original source can be found here.