If you don’t set your privacy settings on Facebook or Instagram, thieves and scammers can easily see everything you post. It’s like leaving the front door of your house open – anyone can come in and cause harm.

• Imagine this: someone copies your photos and messages, pretends to be you and asks your friends for money (“Hi, Basia, can you lend me 500 zł for a ticket? I’m in a bit of a tight spot!”). Your friends give it to them because they believe it’s you.
• Data theft leads to fraud – your profile details are used to take out fake loans. Using your PESEL number or the address on your profile, a fraudster takes out a loan in your name at a bank. Then you’re left with debts and trouble.
• You might receive fake messages such as: “Win a mobile phone for liking this post!” If you click on it, you’ll lose your details. Or: “You’ve won a competition, give us your address for the parcel” – this is a trap designed to steal your personal data.
• If you’ve enabled the ‘friends of friends’ option on Facebook, you’re showing photos of your home or grandchildren to people you don’t know at all. They take a screenshot and find out about your private life.
• It could also happen that someone is stalking you online and has broken into your home because you wrote “I’ve gone on holiday” and everyone saw it.

It’s better to lock those doors with secure settings!