The dangers of social media

If you run a RIA and use social media, read this.

At RSS, we recognize that people are using and enjoying social media for many reasons. And sure, it’s a unique way to keep in touch and share pictures of the kids. But it’s all not cheerful photos and happy birthday wishes.

Think for a moment about all the personal information that people are putting out there.

Well, all of that information lives somewhere.

And it gets analyzed.

In fact, Facebook knows more about you than you might realize…

If you’ve ever seen advertisements for something you had recently been talking about, then you know info from your interactions is being analyzed. They are driving revenue based on advertising.

So what? Facebook is going to try to sell me stuff?

Yes. But now just think about what happens when all that information gets into the wrong hands. Think about how much information a hacker can glean from your social media network and communications:

• the name of your dog
• your children’s names
• where you’re going on vacation
• your wife’s maiden name
• the name of the best man at your wedding

Fairy innocuous information you might assume, but there’s a good chance some of these tidbits are answers to security questions on your brokerage accounts, or worse, might be your password.

If your computer is infected with a phishing attack, you probably won’t know it. And it would make your information available for anyone to use in attempts to breach your firm’s security.

You can probably guess that our stance on social media is not to use it. But if you must use it, be conscious of what you share, ignore the friend requests from strangers (who could be phishing for information), use extreme caution, and make sure your firm’s security and prevention policies are top-notch.

We’re ready to protect you. Let’s talk about how.