Myspace Article
MySpace Precautions
MySpace is an online community where members can create personal websites and
meet new friends or reconnect with old friends. It can be a lot of fun and can
also provide excellent networking opportunities but there are some precautions
which should be taken by all users of MySpace. These precautions include being
aware of the ability for individuals to misrepresent themselves online, knowing
how to avoid being harmed or scammed and understanding the terms of service on
MySpace. This article will discuss these three key concepts which are minimum
precautions MySpace members should take to ensure their MySpace experience is
pleasurable.
Beware of Wolves in Sheeps Clothing
The Internet provides an excellent opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to
deliberately misrepresent themselves. This misrepresentation may be somewhat
innocent such as lying about interest or activities for the purpose of being
more attractive to someone you have a crush on or it can be more series. Those
with criminal intent may lie about a number of factors such as their age, sex
and location in order to lure another member into a harmful situation. There
have been numerous stories which made national headlines about young users of
MySpace being abducted by individuals they met online. Although these cases are
considered to be somewhat rare, they do exist and members of MySpace should be
aware of the potential for this type of activity.
Those who want to do physical harm to another may deliberately misrepresent
themselves but there are other potentially harmful reasons why an individual on
MySpace might pretend to be someone else. This can be done to gain the trust of
other members before conducting a financial scam which will result in a
significant loss of money for the MySpace members who are duped in such a scam.
MySpace members can avoid both physical and financial danger by exercising
caution in their interactions with other members of the community. This includes
emails and instant messages but care should also be taken to avoid posting
sensitive information on MySpace pages as this information can be viewed by the
general public unless the profile is made private.
Know How Much Information is Too Much
One important precaution MySpace members should take is safeguarding their
personal information. This information includes, but is not limited to, the
following pieces of information:
* Full name
* Social security number
* Credit card numbers
* Bank account numbers
* Physical address
* Phone number
* Place of birth
* High school attended and year of graduation
* Names of children and location and date of their births
Some of the items on the above list such as social security number and bank
account numbers are pieces of information most people are aware they should not
divulge to the general public. However, other pieces of information such as high
school attended and year of graduation or names of children and location and
date of their births may seem harmless. Unfortunately this is not true. These
seemingly harmless pieces of information can be used to research an individual
and it might be possible to deduce where a person lives from this type of
information.
Understand the Terms of Service
Finally, members of MySpace should familiarize themselves with the terms of
service provided by MySpace. This information is important for a couple of
reasons. First it will help MySpace members to understand their rights as well
as the security features which exist in the community. Members who are aware of
these facts know their course of action if they are harassed by other members of
MySpace. Additionally, being familiar with the terms of service on MySpace is
important because it helps members to understand which actions are permissible
and which actions are prohibited. This is important because it can prevent a
member from inadvertently breaking the community rules and running the risk of
being banned from the community. If after reviewing the terms of service you
have questions, contact MySpace directly for clarification.
