Q: I sometimes Facebook message to my mother my bank account information every time she needs to deposit money in my account. Is it a safe practice or should I fear that the information might not be safe?
How my information can be revealed through Facebook messages?
There are three primary means that information in a Facebook private message is leaked or put in the wrong hands. The first was the hacking Facebook account or your account or the account of the recipient. In case your account is hacked, you are not only endangering written information on your Timeline, but also the personal information sent in the message to your family member. By accessing your account, identity thieves are getting all the information they need to steal your identity or empty your bank accounts, given that you have included this information in a message.
Another way that your information could be exposed is through the social media site itself. For example, the social media giant is sued for using the data written in private messages to create targeted advertisements to users, as reported by Business Insider. While this claim can not be precise, it is always important to remember that you do not know who has access to this information in the social media company itself.
The final way that your information can be revealed is by a computer virus. In case your computer is infected with malware or keylogging, provide you not only all thieves login information but also personal information you put in a Facebook personal message - to fundamentally all your personal information to thieves .
Is deleting messages also delete information?
Yes and no. Facebook not to delete private messages individually or together and doing this will remove the information from your messages or inbox, but it will not remove it from the inbox of others in conversation.
For the personal information to be removed from each inbox, every person needs to click on the message itself and select "Delete messages" to delete some messages or "Delete conversation" to remove all the conversation. You can access these options by clicking the "Actions" button at the top right of the message. It is essential that you do not select "Archive" because the archived conversations are not deleted and can be found in the Archive folder.
Is there a safer way to share information
Even with all the techniques of communication options available today - Such as SMS, email or Facebook message - verbal communication is still one of the safest ways to share personal information. This is mainly because our devices and online accounts have the ability to be hacked. A good rule of thumb for sharing information online is if you do not want a foreigner to have or to have access to information, so you should not share digitally.
Visit our identity theft protection blog for more tips and steps you can take to protect yourself against identity theft.