We know that friends, old loves, and co-workers have all been reunited on Facebook, but now we have debt collectors and their debtors reunited. Apparently, social media is now an avenue to find debtors. But is this an invasion of privacy? A Florida woman thinks so. Melanie Beacham is suing a debt collection agency for contacting her on Facebook over a $362 car loan, according to MSNBC.
So where is the line between personal and private when you are online? This question has bled into other areas, too. Corporations review social media profiles of jobseekers, and we are blasted with advertising targeted to our profile.
Is social media a place for us to be ourselves? This is a common misconception. In today’s world, all data that you put out there is likely to be sold to advertisers, and used to form an opinion about you personally and professionally. Yes, there are privacy settings for each website. But that does not keep your information private.
Facebook is a private platform. Essentially, if you and I are connected, I have agreed that I am willing to share my information with you. But once you share my information with someone else, then it is no longer private. The real threat to your privacy is all of the applications that Facebook makes available to you. Do you play Mafia Wars or get your Daily Horoscope? These free software applications are free to use because they require that you opt in to disclose your information to them. Typically, that means you are providing your email address and other things you have available. In addition, you are also giving these applications the freedom to access your friends’ profiles.
So how did this debt collection company find Melanie Beacham on Facebook? I don’t know the particulars about her case, but there are a few ways it could be done. The collection company could have legally purchased the information from one of these application companies. Or, they might have sleuthed it out through mutual connections. I could probably brainstorm many other ways it could have occurred, but you get the point.
So, what can you do about it?
- Set your privacy settings. I know you probably have already, however the options are much broader now. It’s time to revisit those settings to make sure they reflect your current choices. Don’t know how? Facebook offers a tutorial with real life scenarios. If you want a full video, just go to YouTube and search for Facebook privacy settings and you will find many videos to choose from.
- Read every EULA you are presented. That stands for End User Licensing Agreement. These are the boring legal terms that pop up when you want to download something. We are so conditioned to just click on ‘accept’ without paying attention to the fine print. I promise you, if you read the EULA on Mafia Wars you would be surprised how much of your privacy and the privacy of your friends you have just given away.
Filed under: Personal Finance Tagged: | debt collection, facebook, MSNBC, privacy, social media
Hi Heather – great article. I am glad you mentioned applications as a means of obtaining info to caution people against blindly signing up for them. The other problem I see is people who blindly accept ‘friend’ invitations just because someone asks to be a friend. For all we know someone at the collection agency may have just requested to be a friend and Melanie accepted. It could have been as simple as that!
Excellent point, Maggie. On KCTV5 today, I went through Carolyn Long’s privacy settings and downloaded applications. We found 20 things she didn’t use or remember signing up for. We’ll have to check her friends too now. Good comment!