The latest viral internet trend came with a good intention, to celebrate graduating high school seniors on social media, but it comes with a new warning that highlights the potential risk of sharing sensitive personal information.
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning to anyone who has considered posting their old senior photos on Facebook.
"Watch out, scammers or hackers who surf through social media sites will see these #ClassOf2020 posts, and will now have the name of your high school and graduation year, which are common online security questions," the BBB said in a statement. "All it takes is an internet search to reveal more information about you, such as family members, your real name, birthdate or even where you live."
MORE: FaceApp goes viral with old-age filter, but spurs privacy concerns with Russian rootsAccording to the nonprofit organization, even if people think the post will only be shared with their friends, it could still end up elsewhere.
Past viral trends, such as the 10-year challenge and other personal list posts have included personal details like cars people owned, favorite athletes and TV shows.
"What most people forget is that some of these 'favorite things' are commonly used passwords or security questions," the BBB explained. "If your social media privacy settings aren’t high, you could be giving valuable information away for anyone to use."
Here are some best-safety practices and tips from the BBB.
Resist the temptation to play along. While it’s fun to see other’s posts, if you are uncomfortable participating, it is best to not do it.
Review your security settings. Check your security settings on all social media platforms to see what you are sharing and with whom you are sharing.
Change security questions/settings. If you are nervous about something you shared possibly opening you up to fraud, review and change your security settings for banking and other websites.