🍰 Your Birthday is Private Info 🎂
Here’s why you shouldn’t share your real birthday online
When you set up a new social media account, shopping profile or newsletter subscription, there is sometimes a request for your birthday. It feels harmless to use your real month and day (and maybe year!). What could go wrong?
Your date of birth is one of the most common pieces of information used to:
✅ Steal your identity
✅ Answer “security questions” (like “What is your birth date?”)
✅ Build a profile to guess passwords
✅ Combine with your address or phone number to open fraudulent accounts
Scammers and data brokers love collecting birthdays because they’re hard to change, and once it’s out there, it’s nearly impossible to pull back.
For sites that don’t truly need your legal date of birth (like social media platforms, streaming services, and online communities), there’s no reason to hand over the real one.
Instead, pick a birth month you’ll remember, and then choose a famous date you won’t forget.
Here are some ideas:
✅ March: March 14th (Pi Day)
✅ May: May the 4th (Star Wars Day)
✅ July: July 4th (Independence Day)
✅ October: October 31st (Halloween)
✅ December: December 25th (Christmas)
This way, you still keep the month (helpful if you want birthday discounts), but you’re not giving away your actual data point.
✨ Why This Works
🔒 It adds friction for scammers. If your real birth date isn’t out there, it’s harder to impersonate you or guess your security answers.
🗂️ It helps you spot phishing attempts. If someone tries to “verify” your identity using your real birthday, you’ll know they got it somewhere you didn’t share it.
🙅 It limits data brokers. Every platform that stores your true birth date becomes a potential leak.
A site may require your legal birthdate (banks, credit bureaus and government agencies) but for the rest, use your “social birthday”!
👹 Elmo Gets Hacked Too!
Just this week, beloved Sesame Street character, Elmo, who has an account on X, was hacked. Hackers were not looking for money, but notoriety, disrupting Elmo’s friendly image by posting awful and untrue things.
Elmo’s X account has over 650,000 follower, and the account typically posts friendly, sweet and funny posts, just like Elmo. Sesame Workshop posted that the hacked posts have since been removed according to this news report.
That’s why it’s so important to your brand and reputation to lock your digital doors. I’ve created a quick reference guide, called Lock it Down! Download your copy today on our Suecurity website.
🚀 Email Spoofing
What is it and Why does it matter?
Email Spoofing happens when a scammer makes a message look like it’s coming from someone you trust- your bank, your boss, or even you!
They forge the email header information so it shows up in your inbox as legitimate, with the name, branding and formatting looking exactly right.
You think you are communicating with someone you know and can lead to big financial losses. People give out confidential information or pay fake invoices.
If your email is spoofed, your reputation could be damaged if your clients or partners get them.
Think - Slow Down Your Response - scammers use a sense of urgency, so take a minute to research and think before you respond.
Explore - Check the senders actual email address, not just the display name. Hover over or tap the senders name, and verify the entire email address.
Act - If you find it’s a scam, report the email to your email service provider, many have a Report link or button just for this.
Prevention
Protect Your Email Domain - if you run a business and have your own email domain, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so that email servers verify that emails really come from you. These records can be tricky, so work with your domain provider or a trusted IT resource.
Educate Your Team and Clients - let them know in advance that you’ll never ask for payments or for sensitive information via email unless you’ve arranged it in advance. Let them know to call you or your team with any questions.
Email spoofing thrives because it looks real. With a little awareness and smart habits, you can stop these scams before they disrupt your business. If you are ever unsure of an email, don’t click the link or respond by replying. Open a new browser window and type the company’s official website address directly or use the contact information you already have.
🦄 Who is Suecurity?
Susan Richards aka Sue-curity
🌉 Background: Over 30 years in information technology with a passion for keeping people and data secure.
👑 Achievement: Hosts a weekly HITRUST Secrets discussion and nerds out about security topics.
☕ Quirk: An American patriot through and through, she still enjoys Irish breakfast tea in the mornings!
🎆 Did You Know? Elmo testified before Congress.
Elmo Testifies Before Congress
Back in 2002, Elmo testified before the US Congress. Elmo was present at the request of Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) to request $2M of federal funding for music education programs. Elmo appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.
Be safe,
