Stay safe on social media

Know how to get the benefits of social media while staying safe.

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Introduction
1. Sharing details online 2. Social media scams

Introduction to 'Stay safe on social media'

Social media can be a great place for sharing updates, posting photos and talking with your friends and family. But you need to take care with what you share and who you share it with.

In this lesson, we’ll help you feel more confident about using social media safely.

What you'll learn

  • How to protect your personal information.
  • Social media scams - what to look out for.
  • How to stay safe and what to do if something happens.

How long it takes

6 minutes

Chapter 1 - Sharing details online

Sharing details online

Chapter 1

How long it takes

2 minutes

What are you sharing online?

Before posting anything on social media, it’s always good to stop and think. Ask yourself: ‘what could someone do with this information?’.

For instance, say you’re going on holiday for two weeks. You post a status on social media checking into an airport. Your post says “So excited to go away with the whole family for 2 weeks!”.

Now you’ve told all your followers that no one’s at your home for two weeks, making it vulnerable to scammers/burglars. So, wait till you’re back home from your holiday to post any pictures and videos.

Remember

Before you post anything online, always ask yourself, ‘what could someone do with this?’

Who are you sharing personal details with?

Make sure your social media is as secure as it can be. That means adjusting your settings and keeping personal details as private as possible. So think about who can see your posts and comments.

Each social site has a way for you to decide exactly who can see your personal details. If someone wants to see your posts, they’ll need to follow you or ask to add you as a friend. You can then accept or deny their request. Some sites let you set different rules for different posts and information.

Be aware

It’s always good to question why someone wants to add you as a friend before you accept them. Especially if you don’t know them.

How to change who can see your information

Here's what you can change:

Facebook

You can decide who sees each post or piece of information. You might share your birthday with ‘friends only’.

You can also change your settings so no one else sees your email address – we recommend you do this.

Instagram

Instagram accounts are set to public by default. This means anyone can see and share your posts. You can change your account to private.

You can also set people as ‘close friends’. So when you share a post, you can choose for just those people to see it.

X

When you sign up for X, your posts are public by default. You can protect these by changing your account settings.

Only your followers can see your protected posts and you’ll get a request when new people want to follow you. You can then choose to accept or deny each request.

TikTok

When you set up a TikTok account, it will be public by default.

You can change this to private, by going into the Privacy settings. This lets you approve who can follow you, see your videos and your followers.

You can also change how you share individual posts.

Remember

Having these privacy settings on is only useful if you take care with who you accept as friends or followers.

When you get a friend or follower request, ask yourself ‘why would this person want to see my information?’

Introduction - Stay safe on social media
Chapter 2 - Social media scams

Social media scams

Chapter 2

How long it takes

4 minutes

Scams you may see on social media

Social media is a perfect platform for scammers. It gives them a place to target people with private messages and posts, and lets them sell items online. Remember, if a deal or product seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Here are some common scams to watch out for.

 

Social media purchase scams

This is when someone sells something on social media, but you either get something different to what you bought, or nothing at all.

 

How to avoid social media purchase scams:

Check seller reviews

Make sure you’re buying from a well-known shop or trusted seller.

Check the seller has real reviews about the product or service.

Unknown websites

Be wary of unknown websites advertised on social media.

Always check before you buy from them.

Social media sellers

Buying from social sites like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or Nextdoor? Always try to see in person what you're buying.

Meet in a public place and have people you trust nearby.

Be aware

Social media may not protect you when you’re shopping there and things go wrong. Always check to see if you can buy the same thing through known shops and sites.

Paying through a trusted website gives more protection than paying directly into someone’s account.

Investment scams

This is when a scammer posts about a financial opportunity that you can invest in. They may promise you a large return on your money. Messages and offers like these are usually a scam, so it’s important to do your own research before you invest.

We have more information on this type of scam in our Invest safely lesson.

 

How investment scams work:

Step 1

An account or advertisement says it will double your money in 24 hours.

Step 2

They ask you to send them money directly into their bank account.

Step 3

They keep your money and don’t give you anything back.

Be aware

Never send money to someone you don’t know. Even if they promise returns and come with lots of ‘positive reviews’.

They can be fake and untrustworthy.

Romance scams

You may know these as ‘dating scams’. When you use online friendship or dating sites, it can be hard to work out if the person you’re speaking to is real. Scammers can be very convincing. They may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create photos and fake profiles.

Want to find out more? We have plenty of tips and real-life stories in our Dating scams lesson.

Remember

Never share personal details or send money, even if it sounds genuine.

If it feels wrong, move on.

Job scams

You may see tempting posts in your social sites that offer high pay for very little work. Be wary of these – if it seems too good to be true, it may be a scam.

Our Job scams lesson has examples and more information about this type of social media scam.

 

How job scams work:

You see an ad for a job that doesn’t need much skill or effort.

When you reply, they may ask for personal or bank details, or upfront fees for training or equipment.

There’s no real job – they’re just trying to get your money or information.

Be aware

If a job sounds far too easy or the pay is very high for simple work, it’s likely to be fake.

How to stay safe

It can be very hard to understand what’s fake and what’s real on social media. In general, it’s always good to be cautious about everything. If you’re not sure about something, always ask someone for help, or double check with a separate source.

The first thing to do is contact Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/.

If you're in Scotland, contact Police Scotland on 101.

Once you've done that, try to take steps to stop further damage. If the scam affects your bank account, contact your bank straight away. Calling 159 will connect you to your bank’s fraud team.

Think someone has one of your passwords? Change your password immediately.

 

If you're in any doubt, remember:

Stop

Take a moment to stop and think before you do anything with your finances or personal details.

Challenge

If the request seems too good to be true, it’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect

Contact your bank straight away if you think you've fallen for a scam and go to Report Fraud.

Test your knowledge

Try again - that's not quite right!

Before you post online, always ask yourself, 'who can see this, and what could they do with it?'

Try again

That's right!

Remember, when someone asks to be your friend or follower, ask yourself 'why would this person want to see my information?'

Chapter 1 - Sharing details online

Want to learn more?

Stay safe online

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Socialise and connect online

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Build your digital confidence

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Bank of Scotland Academy is committed to providing information in a way that is accessible and useful for our users. This information, however, is not in any way intended to amount to authority or advice on which reliance should be placed. You should seek professional advice as appropriate and required. Any sites, products or services named in this module are just examples of what's available. Bank of Scotland does not endorse the services they provide. The information in this module was last updated on 16th February 2026.

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