Getting the COVID-19 vaccination is no small feat. As such, many who have met the requirements or lucked out in some other way to be inoculated from the deadly virus have felt compelled to share their vaccination updates on social media.
Snapping a photo of the COVID-19 vaccination card issued and posting it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can put you at risk, the Better Business Bureau recently warned. The update may be as significant as other news one would share, but the private information revealed by doing so could give scammers and other undesirable online lurkers enough details to cause harm.
Posting that selfie with the card can reveal such confidential information as an individual’s full name, birthday and the location where the vaccine was administered. If privacy settings are not restricted, that means the photo has turned into valuable data for dubious strangers.
The possibility of sharing private information is not the only concern, the bureau said in a news release. Scammers in the United Kingdom have found other ways to misuse the vaccination cards. Those scammers have been caught selling fake vaccination cards on eBay and TikTok.
“It’s only a matter of time before similar cons come to the United States and Canada. Posting photos of your card can help provide scammers with information they can use to create and sell phony ones,” a BBB statement read.
To share the vaccination update without compromising privacy or contributing to a scam, the bureau has suggested a number of safety measures.
— Share your vaccine sticker or use a profile frame instead. If you want to post about your vaccine, there are safer ways to do it. You can share a photo of your vaccine sticker or set a frame around your profile picture.
— Review your security settings. Check your security settings on all social media platforms to see what you are sharing and with whom. If you only want friends and family to see your posts, be sure that’s how your privacy settings are configured.
— Be wary of answering popular social media prompts. Sharing your vaccine photo is just the latest social trend. Think twice before participating in other viral personal posts, such as listing all the cars you’ve owned (including makes/model years), favorite songs and top 10 TV shows. Some of these “favorite things” are commonly used passwords or security questions.
For more information about privacy concerns online, check out BBB’s Scam alert at bbb.org/avoidscams.
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