‘Just setting up my twttr’: 17 years of microblogging, misinformation and privacy risks

The microblogging platform Twitter, a child of the creative minds of four tech graduates in San Francisco, California, has emerged as a social media force of the 21^stcentury.

Since its humble beginnings on March 21, 2006, Twitter has seen it all, growing to an impressive community of over 450 million active users each month.

From an agora of ideas to misinformation, harassment and scams

The platform’s rise to success as it evolved from an SMS service to a go-to medium for individuals to share their thoughts, and interests and make connections with individuals from across the globe has, sadly, morphed into a successful mechanism that enables identity theft and fraud.

A haven of connectivity, the microblogging platform is a prime target for cybercriminals who use it as a tool to manipulate and steal sensitive information and money from unsuspecting users.

Here are the top security and privacy risks you could run into when using Twitter or sharing details about your private life online:

· Personal and financial security risks - Tweeting about your location on the platform can put your personal security at risk. It’s recommended that you be careful about sharing your location and your place of residence to prevent potential harassment in real life. Personally identifiable information, including your full name, birthday, address or other identifiers, including financial data, has no place on Twitter. Cybercriminals will often comb social media profiles and scrape personal information about potential targets to commit identity crimes.

· Twitter-enabled scams – You may run into various scams when using Twitter, including crypto investment scams, romance scams and bogus giveaways. Fraudsters may impersonate a celebrity or a well-known business, or take over accounts to spread swindles and even infect unsuspecting users’ devices with malware.

· Reputation and job risks - Your tweeting activity can harm your career, college application and overall reputation, even if you post using a made-up identity. As a rule of thumb, never defame your employer, classmates, teachers and coworkers or divulge confidential information. It only takes one bad tweet to put an end to your career or dream job.

· Data breaches and leaks - Similar to other social media giants, Twitter is no stranger to high-profile account hijacking, data scraping incidents, hacks and vulnerabilities that exposed the personal info of hundreds of million users throughout these 17 years.

Safeguarding your personal info, identity and money

Whether you use Twitter casually or intensely, take a look at these tips and tricks to stay safe while exploring the social media platform:

• Don’t share personal information, including your phone numbers, home address and date of birth, passwords, Social Security Number or other identifiers
• Never share sensitive photos or other media
• Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication
• Tweak your privacy and safety settings. Deactivate your location, and stop other users from finding your account via your email address or phone number (Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Discoverability)
• Be wary of unknown individuals who DM and promote links, ads or investment opportunities
• Block and report accounts that exhibit harassing behavior
• Never give financial information to people you meet online
• Use a security solution to protect against malicious attacks and phishing links

Bitdefender’s Digital Identity Protection (DIP) helps you manage your data on social media platforms Twitter, by creating a comprehensive mapping of your digital footprint. You get real-time data breach monitoring, alerts and a handy tool to help you detect potential social media impersonators who may harm your reputation.