Agent Insights Ep 70: Good and Bad Personal Information

Hello everyone! The AJSASS staff and Agent Galaxy are here to talk about personal information. To be more specific, we'd like to go into detail about what personal information is ok to share with others, and what is not.

You've probably been told before that you shouldn't share personal information on the internet. Generally, you shouldn't, but some information is okay to share. There is even some information that is only ok to share in certain situations. This post was made to provide a general list of types of information and when it's okay to share it. If you're ever in doubt about whether or not you should be sharing a certain type of information, it's always safer to not share it.

Information like your first name, what country you live in, or your pets' names is generally alright to share. This information can't be used to find out personal information about who you are or where you live. Other things like your gender, race, etc. are also very vague, general descriptors that are very unlikely to harm you. Things like the city you live in or the neighborhood you're from are much more questionable. This is because it can be combined with other information you provide to physically pinpoint your location. A specific city or neighborhood is much smaller than say, a country or state. Hence, people with malicious intent will be able to make more use of the information about your city/neighborhood than your country/state.

On a similar note, you shouldn't tell people stuff like the name of the school you go to/used to go to, your last name, phone number, or other stuff that can be used to locate you or personally identify you. In general, you don't want to give information that can be pieced together to find you. Therefore, it is very important to keep track of what you tell others to make sure you don't accidentally reveal too much about yourself. Predators will probably keep a list of what was said so that they can piece together information to form specific deductions. It is your job to make sure that they do not have enough information to piece together.

It should also be noted that some information, such as your first pet's name, your mother's maiden name, and random family members' names can be used in verification questions that appear when you change a password. If you have ever made an account on a website before, you may have been asked to create "security questions" to provide additional protection for your account. These questions are usually along the lines of "what was the name of your first pet?" or "what was the name of your 1st grade teacher?". You should remember what information you've used in such questions and avoid giving it out to strangers. Otherwise, they could use the information to break into your account.

Be wary of posts people share that ask you to combine multiple pieces of info to form a "nickname" of some sort. For example, you have probably seen posts that say something like "your superhero name is the color of the shirt you're wearing right now + the closest object on your left side!". This question is pretty innocuous and is simply a silly joke post. The information it asks for is vague, random, and could not be used to identify you. On the other hand, a question that says something like "your undercover identity is the name of your first pet + your mother's maiden name" is likely not as innocent. People who post those kinds of interactable images that ask for very targeted information are likely attempting to phish for answers to security questions.

Telling people your age is also generally safe, as it cannot be used to personally identify you. That being said, it is not a requirement and it is perfectly fine to not want other internet users to know how old you are. Additionally, be cautious around anyone who pressures you into sharing your age or makes a big deal out of how old you are. If you are hanging out with somebody older than you or whose age you don't know, who continually comments on how "mature" you are for your age or how long it is until you turn 18, it's highly encouraged that you cut contact with them. These tactics are often used by adults preying on teenagers and children. Remember that, if anyone on the internet is making you uncomfortable or simply giving you bad vibes, you DO NOT have to keep talking to them! There's nothing wrong with blocking other users, even if they haven't specifically done anything wrong.

Another thing that should generally be avoided is real-life images of yourself. As mentioned before, don't give online friends a way to track you down. There are ways for people to find out a lot about you from just one image, so don't send it. This also applies to sending images of places near your location. For example, do not send a picture of the outside of your house/other houses in your neighborhood, a landmark near where you live, etc. Most importantly, don't ever feel pressured to send a real image of yourself because the other party did. You do not know if the image they sent is really them. Even if it is, you are never obligated to ignore your boundaries.

Finally, don't give your financial information to anyone that isn't a trustworthy site. This is because people can steal the information given to take money from you, or use your account to pay their bills.

Please note that the list we have here is definitely not exhaustive. However, the general rule of thumb still stands: do not give the other party enough information to be able to track you down or personally identify you.

That's all for this post! Remember to stay safe!

-The SASS staff and Agent Galaxy