We've seen our friends do it. Maybe you've even done it yourself. Now the BBB is urging people NOT to share their COVID-19 Vaccination Card on social media.

The last year or so has been difficult for everyone, staying home as much as we can, missing out on the parties and gatherings that were so much a part of our lifestyles just a brief 12 months ago, so when the vaccines started to become available and we got our first or second shot we wanted to shout it to the world. The way we do that in the 21st century is via social media and there are dangers to sharing too much information.

According to ABC News and the Better Business Bureau, scammers are watching for photos of vaccination cards to glean your personal information from. Unless you crop that shot really closely you could be passing along your full name, date of birth, and pretty much everything else that someone would need to steal your identity. With that information they could open up new credit cards, buy cell phones and commit to a service plan, and any number of other things.

Complicating matters, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) is urging everyone who gets vaccinated to encourage others to do the same. What's a person supposed to do? Well, there are alternatives to sharing too much information. You can share a picture of the sticker that some vaccination centers give out or just post a comment that you got the shot and it didn't hurt a bit. (Assuming that's true.) Just be careful not to share too much personal information in the process.

The Better Business Bureau has three simple tips to help you encourage others to get vaccinated and protect your personal information at the same time.

 

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.

 

Whether you choose to take any of the several vaccines now being made available or not is entirely up to you. Do your homework and make your own decision. But if you choose to share your choice with the world, please do it wisely.

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