GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Now that Covid-19 vaccination recommendations for pediatric and teen populations have been extended, and as those restrictions continue to be lifted and change and it rolls out to more individuals around the country, The Better Business Bureau reminds people not to share a photo of your vaccination card on social media.
“These juveniles might have their own social media accounts, and may not have heard or been aware of previous warnings to not share that information online,” said Susan Bach of the BBB. “The reason we warn against sharing your vaccine card online, or really any information with personally identifying information on it, is that it really makes you vulnerable to identity theft.”
Bach says there are much easier and safer ways to show people that you’re vaccinated.
“You could use a profile frame or post a picture of you holding your vaccine sticker,” Bach said. “Those are safer ways because they don’t share any type of personal information on the post.”
Bach points out that even a minimal amount of self-identifying information makes you vulnerable to identity theft and can help scammers create phony versions of the cards. There have even been reports of scammers offering fake vaccine cards for sale.
The personal vaccine card has self-identifying information on it including your full name, birth date and information about where you got the vaccine. If your social media settings aren’t set high, you may be giving valuable information away making you vulnerable to scams.
“Review security settings on all of your social media platforms. You want to make sure you only share personal information or posts with people you want to share it with,” Bach said.
BBB recommends that you share safely on social media and offers these tips:
- 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.
You can learn more about the issue at BBB.org.
