Don’t use social media to log in to food delivery apps, warn police

After regularly busting credit and debit card rackets that sell sensitive data after stealing them using various techniques, police have now issued a warning asking people not to log onto mobile apps and websites using social media logins and passwords, as it may lead to data leak. The advisory was issued through its social media handle, perhaps in an effort to reach out better to the target population to whom the warning was sounded out. 

“Many websites and apps give you the option to ‘log in with Facebook’ rather than creating a separate account. But by doing this, your social network may share all the information it holds about you, including the date and place of your birth, your e-mail addresses and employment details along with photos,” a message from the Chennai Police twitter handle warned. 

“We thought it was better to warn people on the subject. Though many are aware of data leak, it is always better to remind them of the possibility of their personal data getting leaked online,” an officer attached to the City Police online team told DTNext. 

The message further warned that using just one login for multiple sites could result in a very high possibility of all your accounts getting compromised if any one site was hacked. 

Police have also advised not to link bank accounts to every other apps and websites. It also warned against clicking on links in messages, tweets, posts and online advertising, which may be links to viruses or other forms of malicious contents. 

Police further noted that one should check if the website was secured before shopping online, and should not give away your account or card details in return for free gifts.