I received an email about a year ago on 7 things to stop doing on Facebook. I will mention three of them and give real situations of friends and families who have almost been victimized by criminals because they failed to follow the necessary security protocols.
1) Using a Weak Password. A cousin of mine who was a first time user of Facebook, made the crucial mistake of using his social security number as his password. It was a misfortune that someone got a hold of his wallet and coincidentally tried his SS number to log on to his account. It was a good thing that is was his wife, and so he quickly changed his password, and hid his wallet in a locked safe.
2) Mentioning That You’ll Be Away From Home. A good friend of mine posted on his wall that he and his family are really excited to go on a 5-day Australian vacation after checking out Australia business directory. On the first day they were away, a neighbor called and said that there was a parked van in front of their house. He called the local police station immediately and had someone sent over. The van left just before the cop parked his car.
3) Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised. This experience is probably the scariest of all. My 5-year old nephew has a Facebook account that he shares with his mom who is a nurse. She is usually at his side as he writes random messages to friends and family members. However, in the course of preparing dinner one night, a message from a stranger popped out as her child was chatting with another cousin. Good thing she caught it on time. She never found out who the message was from, but now she lets her son write emails instead.