Careful what you put on the internet, vaccination selfies could be leaking personal information

EDMONTON (CityNews) – Since COVID-19 vaccines opened up to younger ages, the selfies dubbed ‘vaxxies’ and vaccine videos have started to flood the internet.

But online security experts are warning some of the personal information you are giving away might be exactly what a scammer or criminal is looking for.

“You have those who are taking a picture getting the vaccine, or with a band-aid on their arm, which, I think is okay. Then you have those who take it to the next level, when they take a picture of their vaccine card,” said Paul Davis, an online safety and social media educator.

Davis says he was shocked to see someone volunteering their full name, birth date, which vaccine they got, where they got it, and at what time.

“Scammers crave that information. By trying to lure you to share it, you’ve just gone out there and said, ‘Here it is’, by not clicking on a link but by saying to the world, ‘I did it, here’s all my personal information,’” Davis explained.

Davis recognizes that sharing a vaccine selfie helps spread positivity and fight vaccine hesitancy. However, he wants to make sure you don’t geotag where you got it or feel the need to share which vaccine.

In a worst case scenario, someone knows what vaccine you got, where you’ve had it, when you’ve had it, as well as your birthday and full name.

“This is a question I get asked, and I cannot respectfully answer, because what we are doing is educating those bad people to understand how to misuse the technology once they have it in their hands. Having said that, can it be used against you because of the medical information that is out there? Absolutely. Can it be used against you from a relationship gone bad? Absolutely. It actually could prevent you from getting your second dose.”

With so much of our social life happening online this past year, giving away your private information could come back to haunt you, because the internet never forgets.