That Facebook Quiz May Get You Hacked

Bearded man in a white collared shirt, sitting at his computer with his hand on his temple, looking downwards.

While at home due to COVID-19, we’re looking for creative ways to both pass the time and stay connected. Filling out Facebook “get to know me better” quizzes seems like a great way to do both, but you may be inadvertently giving away important data that could get you hacked.

These quizzes ask the user personal questions, and then compare the answers to friends’ answers. Many of the questions are the “security questions” your online accounts asked you when you created them, including your banking accounts.

Tech columnist and cybersecurity expert Nur Zincir-Heywood recommends to never do these quizzes. The different questions may not all be asked on the same quiz, but multiple quizzes can elicit enough information that a cybercriminal could access a bank or credit card account.

Phishing incidents have increased since COVID-19

There are opportunists preying on people’s fears during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Ottawa Police warned about email phishing scams where people posing as hospital employees may be attempting to install malware or collect personal information.

US Police departments have also given similar warnings about giving out personal information online in quizzes.

CBC News reported in March that online phishing attacks targeting Canadian federal employees working at home are on the rise. An internal note warned federal employees to be on guard against phishing attempts, offering tips such as staying off YouTube and avoiding social media sites such as Facebook while working from home.

People who fall prey to these types of phishing hackers often have their company affected, for example this writer whose website was hacked and had strange ads appear.

Here’s how SupportMyMac keeps your business safe:

We monitor your IT systems constantly, ensuring everything is running smoothly and remaining on the lookout for anything suspicious or harmful
We keep your software up-to-date and working properly by installing any necessary updates and making regular repairs. We make sure there are no ‘weak spots’ for attackers to target
We ensure a quick response in a crisis with solid backup and recovery plans, and minimize downtime.
We’re experienced and professional, with a track record of providing practical and effective solutions to security issues
We’re Apple specialists, unlike many other MSPs. That means we understand your Apple tech well, and know exactly how to safely manage it

We have resources to help

Take steps to to protect company from ransomware, and to prepare them for an attack. It’s always best to work with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) like SupportMyMac, but there’s still plenty you can do today.

The following blog posts have many tips for keeping your organization’s data and your staff’s information safe: