Social media quizzes may seem harmless, fun, and insightful, but they can be used by cybercriminals to gather personal information and exploit your identity.

You’ve likely seen quiz questions that seek to get to know your fun side, your hobbies, and interests, and in return, the quiz results promise to shed some insights on the type of person you are, the type of job you should pursue, or the type of people you should be with.

Answering these seemingly innocent questions can reveal valuable details about you and help a criminal properly answer security questions related to your bank account, guess passwords, or even devise future means of phishing you.

These examples demonstrate how seemingly innocuous quiz questions can reveal sensitive information that could be exploited by cybercriminals:

1. "What was the name of your first pet?" This is a classic security question used by many websites and services. Answering this in a quiz could give a scammer the key to unlock one of your accounts.
2. "What is your favorite band?" This seems harmless, but if your passwords are often based on things you like (like song lyrics or band names), this answer could give a scammer a clue to crack your password.
3. "What was the make and model of your first car?" This might seem random, but some people use personal details like this to create passwords or security question answers.
4. "What is your dream vacation destination?" This could seem harmless, but it can reveal information about your travel plans, which could be valuable to scammers planning phishing attacks or identity theft schemes.

How to Protect Yourself:

1. Don’t do personal quizzes: Avoid any quiz or survey that asks questions about you personally.
2. Think before you share: Don’t provide the quiz any information that you wouldn't want to be public.
3. Review your privacy settings: Control who can access your information on social media platforms.
4. Warn others: Let your friends and family know about the risks of social media quizzes.
5. Think before you click: Be wary of quizzes that ask for access to your social media profiles or other personal accounts.
6. Question the purpose: Consider why a quiz is asking for certain information. If it seems unnecessary or irrelevant, it's best to be cautious.
7. Don’t pass it along to friends: Avoid revealing your inner circle to the criminal and avoid potentially making your friends targets of the same scammer.

Remember, scammers are always looking for new ways to trick you. Stay vigilant and protect your personal information.