Today, half of Americans believe that their data is less secure than it was five years ago, and yet we are sharing more information about ourselves on social media than ever before. Managing and protecting our own information is a personal responsibility; a good place to start is with a Google search.
Handling over 3.5 billion searches every day, Google is a treasure trove of information. This includes information about us as well. Over half of millennials have Googled their own names and over one in ten Gen Zers do so daily. Whether it satisfies curiosity or confirms a worst nightmares, what we can see on a Google search of our own name as what everyone else can see as well. Smart cyber criminals know how and where to look to build a profile on a victim, relying on our habits of oversharing and taking advantage of lax security settings. The result can be a personally curated email scam or even a catfishing attempt that preys on our insecurities and fears.
What does a simple Google search of your own name reveal? It may be more than you realize. See this infographic for more on managing online accounts, holding on to your personal data, and keeping it out of the hands of scammers and cyber criminals.
