Scott Brenner

I'm a former software engineer with decades of experience making software safe and easy. Now I share clear, practical advice to help you protect your accounts, devices, and money.

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Your Holiday & Travel Posts Are Powering Next Year's Scams

Why what you share on social media today gets used against you later

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Last December, a couple posted cheerful updates during a cruise. Photos on deck. A restaurant tag. A post about "finally unplugging for the week."

Three days later, their friends received messages that appeared to come from them:
"Hey, we're stuck abroad and can't access our bank account. Can you help us out?"

Several people almost did.

Nothing was hacked. No passwords stolen. The scammer simply used public travel posts to make the story feel real.

That's how many scammers work now. They don't break in. They blend in.

When you post holiday gatherings, airport selfies, hotel views, or gift photos on social media, you're quietly revealing where you are, who your family members are, what you just bought, and which devices you're using.

That information often gets reused months later in fake stranded-traveler messages, account recovery attacks, family impersonation scams, and targeted phishing that feels personal.

Nothing here is malicious. It's just more exposure than most people realize.

Your 1-Minute Year-End Privacy Reset

Do this to make your future posts safer by default:

1. Open your main social media app and go to Settings → Privacy

2. Set your default post audience to Friends Only (or Private)

3. Turn off public profile indexing (if available)

4. Disable automatic location tagging for new posts

That's it. Every future holiday and travel post now starts from a safer baseline.

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☝️ One last thing

Locking down social media reduces impersonation and travel scams. But what most people discover once they start tightening things up is that social media is only one piece of a bigger picture.

That's why I created The 15-Minute Online Safety Checkup.

It quickly shows you which everyday security gaps matter most and exactly how to fix them without jargon or overwhelm.

If you want calm confidence going into the new year, that's the fastest path I know.

👉   Start Your 15-Minute Checkup

Stay safe,

OnlineSafetyZone.com

PS – If you'd like me to cover another online safety topic that's been nagging at you, just hit reply and tell me.

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