Last Updated on Dec 14, 2023

With around 4.2 billion of us regularly using social media, it’s clear that we’re more than quite fond of it. We put pretty much every aspect of our lives on the platforms. Where we work, what we had for dinner, what we thought of the latest episode of our favorite TV show — we effectively share every part of our lives with our online friends.

And while social media is great, its use doesn’t come without its security risks. Because so much of our lives and personal data is attached to our online accounts, it makes them prime targets for hackers.

But I have 2FA, so I’m safe, right?

Not at all. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is excellent. In fact, 2FA via SMS blocks 76% of all targeted hacking attacks. Unfortunately, however, it does not give you bulletproof social media security. Far from it, actually.

Back in 2020, hackers gained access to around 130 high-profile verified Twitter accounts and posted Tweets asking for people to send Bitcoin.

The hackers were able to log into the accounts of Elon Musk, Joe Biden, Barrack Obama, Apple, and lots of other seemingly secure accounts. Twitter quickly shut down the hacking operation, but it was made quite clear that no matter who you are, your account can never be 100% secure.

Your data can be leaked even without your account being hacked, too

Hackers don’t even need to be able to log in to your account to leak your data, either — a lot of it can be simply scraped from the web. Web scraping is a technique used to extract data from websites using a software script. No hacking is involved and no emails or passwords are required.

Hackers used web scraping to leak the data of over 533 million people in the recent Facebook data leak. The data was put up for sale on an underground hacking forum, but leaked data is also commonly sold on the dark web.

The Facebook leak resulted in people’s names, dates of birth, phone numbers, and email addresses being posted online for sale, but lots of other personal data was leaked, too.

What criminals can do with your leaked data

If criminals manage to get their hands on enough of your personal data, they could use it to commit many different crimes, both online and offline. Here are just some of them:

• Take out new credit cards under your name.
• Steal your tax refund.
• Take out money from your banking or investment accounts.
• Open new utility or telecom accounts under your name.
• Get medical treatment under your name.

What can I do to protect myself?

So, you’re probably wondering, if your account can never be 100% secure and hackers can scrape your personal data off the internet, what can you do to protect yourself? The answer is simple: Trend Micro ID Protection.

Trend Micro ID Protection is the perfect tool for monitoring the internet and the dark web for your personal data — 24/7! With ID Protection, you can:

• Safeguard your social media accounts against hackers.
• Receive alerts if your personal info gets leaked.
• Protect against online threats, such as phishing scams.
• Stop sites from collecting privacy-compromising data.
• Create, store, and manage strong, tough-to-hack passwords.

What’s even better is that you can enjoy a 100% unrestricted 30-day free trial of ID Protection‘s paid version, so that you can take advantage of all its awesome features and start securing your identity and privacy today! Click the button below to get started!