Why Online Quizzes and Chain Posts Can Put Your Information at Risk

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Scrolling through Facebook, it is easy to come across a cheerful quiz asking which decade suits your personality or a chain post promising good luck if you share it with ten friends. They look harmless and fun. However, online quizzes and chain posts are often designed to collect personal details, and many Kiwi seniors are being caught out.

How Online Quizzes Collect Your Details

Many online quizzes ask for the name of your first pet, the street you grew up on, your mother’s maiden name or the first car you owned. These are the same answers banks and websites often use as security questions. Sharing them in a quiz may hand scammers the clues they need to guess your passwords or reset your accounts. Some online quizzes also ask for your email address or birth date, then pass that information on to marketing companies.

The Trouble With Chain Posts

Chain posts work differently but carry similar risks. A post asking you to list your favourite things or share a photo of your childhood home can reveal more about you than you realise. Others claim a child is missing or a charity needs urgent help, yet the story is old or made up. Sharing these spreads misinformation, and the original post can later be edited to link to a harmful website once it has collected plenty of shares.

Simple Ways to Stay Safe

Before joining in with online quizzes, ask yourself what the quiz is really asking. If an answer could help someone verify your identity, leave it out. Be wary of any quiz that asks you to log in with your Facebook account or allow access to your friends list. For chain posts, pause before you share. Search for the story on a trusted New Zealand news site or on the Netsafe website, and if you cannot confirm it, do not pass it on.