No matter who you are, social media is used to show off the good things in your life, because we’re all #blessed in one way or another.

But the young heirs of the uber-wealthy are not only attracting hoards of envious attention from followers of their Instagram accounts, but they are also providing evidence for investigators to freeze or seize their parents’ assets.

Leading cybersecurity firms said they were using evidence from social media in up to 75% of their litigation cases, ranging from billionaire divorces to asset disputes between oligarchs, with the online activity of super-rich heirs frequently providing the means to bypass their family’s security.

Social media has been investigators first point of call more and more frequently.

Their opponent in one asset recovery case claimed to have no significant valuables – until investigators found a social media post by one of his children that revealed they were on his $25m yacht in the Bahamas.

Most investigations were more complex, and involved using social media to map a target’s family and business networks.

For example, they might use the metadata embedded in an Instagram post to identify their location, or use a Facebook “like” or tag to track down a proxy company.

You can start building up a profile of that individual: where they are; what their interests are; who are they regularly in touch with.

But investigators aren’t the only ones who can do this. Increasingly, cases of cybercrime are being reported as hackers use information gathered through information shared on social media posts to gain access to email accounts and other private things.

In one such case, a business owner’s daughter’s emailed was hacked, and through her email address the hackers were able to make requests for large sums of money while she was away on holiday. The hack was only realised when her dad was angered over the amount she was using and they found out it wasn’t her at all.

While cybercrime is on the rise, it’s not only the rich who are targeted – anyone can be targeted and that’s why you should make sure your passwords are a challenge. Partner up with someone who is in the business and knows how to protect you, like local company NEWORDER.

Or, you could just let go of all social media platforms. It’s no secret that the addiction to various platforms actually make us unhappy as we falsely believe people to be happier than us, friends with us, and supportive of us.

For many people (not just teenagers), it seems the only way we can validate ourselves is though a screen, a habit which is just as bad for our health as over-indulging in drink or drugs. And just as addictive.

The latest trend among hipsters – we have them to thank for a lot – is to have a digital-free home. But if that is too difficult, try to first abolish screens from the bedroom and using any device during the hour before lights out.

That, paired with the impending attack one might receive from over-sharing, means it may be a good idea to stay away from the digital lifestyle.

[source: theguardian&independent]