In the News
Social media is becoming more than just a platform of communication. In Instagram ‘s fundraiser sticker could lure credit card number, Josh Constine at TechCrunch discusses how social media platforms such as Facebook and potentially Instagram will store financial payment information when individuals make purchase from their platforms. Constine explains that the rollout of a Fundraiser sticker on Instagram would allow users to make donations and purchases through the app, but will simultaneously store the payment information for future purchases. Constine elaborates that this sticker may work very similarly to the Donate option on Facebook, but if users wanted to remove their payment information from being stored on Facebook, it had to be done manually.
Our Take
As social media becomes an ever-increasing part of daily life, the integration of commerce on such sites was inevitable. This integration increases the usefulness of social media and provides a multi-tasking opportunity for users. In our age of digital communication and social media use, online donations have surged as well. While philanthropic contributions are an incredible way to contribute to causes one cares about, the privacy aspect of online donations is more complicated. As with online purchases in general, legitimacy and data storage of payment information is a significant concern. If social media platforms are storing your payment information for future use, that is more sensitive data they are responsible with protecting. Given the frequency of data misuse claims regarding social media companies, customers may not have much trust that these companies will protect their financial information. For this reason, it may be beneficial for user’s to manually remove their payment information after making a donation or purchase. At the very least, we should all be more cautious when making financial transactions on social media platforms to protect our finances.
Recommendations
How can you protect your financial information when making purchases and payments through social media?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Use safe password practices, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible
- Research organizations and retailers to verify their legitimacy before donating or making purchases online
- Minimize the number of accounts that have direct access to your bank account or card numbers
- Check your email, financial statements, and credit reports regularly for abnormal activities