For the time being, limit how much information you digitally make available about yourself. For every piece of information about you that’s out there, the easier it is to mine more information about you.
You can start off with limiting the amount of information you display on your social media accounts. Do all 1,000 of your Facebook “friends” need to know your phone number? The people in your life who really need your number likely already have it. You may as well set your social media settings to private while you’re already there, too.
And you most likely already know to create different passwords for all your accounts, use two-factor authentication, and all that jazz.
The last place to think about online privacy is your credit card.
Credit card companies sell your data and information to advertisers without your approval. Yes, that means people out there know what you buy, how much of it you buy, and when and where you bought it. The solution? Pay with cold, hard cash.
And when you do need to use your card, don’t feel obligated to give your zip code when checking out. You don’t have to give it to them. Giving up your zip code is the beginning of a crumb trail that can be matched to other information about you.
