“We didn’t realize we were making memories; we just knew we were having fun……”  Isn’t that what college life is all about?

The class of 2020 entered college late in the summer of 2015. The students half of their school year in a state of remote learning, physical distancing, and mounting dread.

To address the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities temporarily closed their doors and when they quickly had to transition classes to an online format—a shift that students, professors, administrators, and public health officials agreed was essential for limiting the SARS-2 virus’ transmission.

That graduation ceremonies were put on indefinite hold was a blow to students who had years of their lives working towards a college degree. The fact that these graduates were unable to share that moment with their friends and parents was disappointing. For the class of 2020, this was their last chance to say goodbye and make graduation particularly special. The pandemic had taken that spectacular moment away from these graduates.

#Classof2020

Family and friends have begun to post their old high school senior photos. They are sharing graduation-esque memories to show support for the class of 2020, many of whom are missing out on the final weeks of their senior year due to the current coronavirus pandemic.  #Classof2020 is a social media challenge in which people are posting their high school senior portraits in support of this year’s graduating class.

This viral trend has encouraged graduating students to share personal details like graduation year, class photos, and high school names. While the sentiment is sweet, these personal details can be used to infer additional sensitive information, like date of birth and location. Remorseless or desperate hackers can use this information to gain access to social media accounts, guess security questions on commercial sites, and send spear-phishing (targeted) emails to deceive a student to disclose sensitive information. Trends like posting personal car photos, favorite athletes, and favorite television shows can make social media users vulnerable for the similar reason.s If your social media privacy protection is weak, your personal information is extremely vulnerable. 

Privacy Risk

Why are college students prime targets? Whether it’s fraudulent credit card charges, compromised accounts, or a new, unrequested and unknown line of credit, digital fraud is a growing problem, and college students are particularly susceptible. According to privacy experts, college students (primarily young adults) tend to be uninformed about how identity theft occurs and the possible consequences.

Heed to these safety tips for social media; pass them along to those you know and love.

1. Be selective when it comes to the online friends you accept, the information you share, and even the photos you post.
2. Be smart about what you decide to share. Sharing too much can open you up to identity theft and give clues to what the passwords for your most sensitive accounts may be.
3. Be careful what you click.  Every link, application, and advertisement you follow could lead to an attempted breach of your privacy.
4. Set up alerts.  You will be notified if someone tries to log in to your account from a device that Facebook does not recognize.
5. Review security settings in your and periodically change security questions.

While these best practices are beneficial, the job doesn’t end at social media. The internet is a vast sea of activity, a technological wonder with endless possibilities, but it also is like a crime-infested neighborhood. As with any powerful tool, bad actors seek to use its power against others. That’s why we at Presence have made it our mission to help you control your personal information and eliminate privacy exposures.  Use our app to monitor your digital footprint so you may forge ahead with peace of mind into the next chapter of your life. 

Interested in learning more? Learn about the 4 Things Presence Can Do For You and our 10 Tips on How to Better Protect Your Online Data Privacy.

Join the movement #privacyfirst.