The Social Media Settings Scammers Hope You Never Change

Have you noticed more scam calls recently, or almost fallen for a phishing email (where criminals trick you into sharing private information online)?

The UK National Cybersecurity Centre (NCC) said it’s not just you. “Scams are getting smarter, and some even fool the experts,” it shared on its website. 

Among these are social media scams, which can involve someone adding you under the guise of an old friend and then asking you for money or information. Romance scams can also take place on these sites.

And some cybersecurity experts say that posts we share publicly could provide a rich source of information for fraudsters, too. AI scams might rely on clips of your voice shared online (Police Scotland warns we should “avoid sharing videos and audio clips publicly to protect your voice from being cloned”).

Personal information, like your full name, address, and even your writing style, might make impersonation scams more convincing. Cybersecurity company ESET says this risk is “one of the biggest reasons to keep your social platforms private”. 

And the NCC advised, “it’s important to know how to manage the security and privacy settings on your accounts, so that your personal information remains inaccessible to anyone but you”.

Here are some general rules to follow, along with site-specific steps you can take to protect yourself from scammers.

How can I keep my social media safer in general?

It’s a good idea to use two-step verification (2SV) on accounts with sensitive information. 

This way, the NCC said, “even if a criminal (or someone simply looking to cause mischief) knows your password, they won’t be able to access any of your accounts that are protected using 2SV”.

You should also think about what people who follow you really need to know, “and what detail is unnecessary (but could be useful for criminals)”. 

And it’s useful to recognise accounts that are more likely to be fake. 

These include:

Accounts that were only started recently, Those with nonsense usernames, Accounts with few followers, though these can be purchased. 

Social media sites have options to help you report suspected fake accounts.

Lastly, as we mentioned above, keeping your social media and/or sensitive posts private can make your experience online safer.

Security settings for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X

1) Instagram 

Instagram’s site allows you to make your profile private by: 

Clicking on the icon of three horizontal lines on your profile page (top right-hand corner on the app),Navigating to account privacy,Toggling the switch next to private account to “on”, Confirm by clicking “switch to private”. 

Instagram’s security page also mentions sites that may be connected to your account. These might be able to access public profile information, or other info that you shared with them. 

If you want to review these: 

Click on the three horizontal lines icon again on your profile page,Scroll down to app website permissions, Navigate to apps and websites and then active, Hit “remove” for apps you want to disconnect from your profile. 

Read more on Instagram’s security settings here.

2) Facebook 

If you want your default Facebook settings to be private, 

Go to your profile page on Facebook and select the icon with three horizontal lines at the top left of the page (again, this is on the app), Go down to where it says settings and privacy and click on settings, Navigate to the audience and visibility section and click posts, Next to who can see your future posts?, pick your target audience – ie. friends (this will show your posts to only your Facebook friends who you’ve approved),Hit save.

To make individual posts private: 

Select the text box where you usually post new statuses,Under your name, select audience selector,Choose friends if you only want your friends to see your future posts, or only me if you want it to only be visible to you. 

Facebook’s security page added the audience selector will also appear on things you’ve already shared, so you can see who you’ve shared each post with. After you’ve shared a post, you also have the option to change who it’s shared with.

Additionally, you can also change who can see the basic information on your profile, like where you live. 

To do this: 

Click edit profile on your profile page,Hit the pencil button next to the information which you’d like to make private, Where it says who can see this? toggle to make it visible to friends or just you. 

Then, there’s the information other people share about you on Facebook to consider. Tagged posts and images can reveal information about you you might not want associated with your account.

To change who sees these, 

Go to your profile page on Facebook and select the icon with three horizontal lines at the top left of the page (again, this is on the app), Go down to where it says settings and privacy and click on settings, Select profile and tagging, Click who can see posts that you’re tagged in on your profile? and use the audience selector to pick friends or only me if you don’t want this information public. 

Lastly, you can do an overall Safety Checkup, which can help you review things like who can add you as a friend and how people can find you online. 

To access this, 

Go to settings and privacy > privacy checkup.

For more information, visit Facebook’s security page.

3) X (formerly Twitter) 

Making your activity private on X is called “protecting your posts”. To do this, 

Tap your profile picture, Go to privacy and safety,Navigate to audience and tagging > protect your posts, and toggle the switch next to the latter section “on”.

You can read X’s security tips here.

4) TikTok 

To make your TikTok private, 

Select your profile in the bottom right side, Select the three horizontal lines on the top left of the screen, Go to settings and privacy > private account, and toggle “on”. 

Meanwhile, you can make individual videos private or restrict them by: 

Selecting the video, Hitting the three dots in the bottom right of the clip, Scrolling to privacy settings, Choosing who can see the post and who can comment, Duet, Stitch, or add it to their Story. 

TikTok’s security page adds: “Never trust any third-party websites that promise to give away free likes, fans, crowns, coins, or other incentives as they may be able to take your login info. Be sure to always verify any links sent to you via private message before accessing the page.”