COVID-19 vaccination card with information blocked out| The Wright State Guardian
As more people become vaccinated for the coronavirus, sharing a picture of vaccine cards on social media has become a form of celebrating this transition to normal life. However, there is a newfound issue of people posting their vaccine cards online and risking identity theft.
What information is considered sensitive?
There is sensitive information on vaccine cards that patients should be wary of sharing online. According to the Healthline website, sensitive information consists of your name, birthday and date of vaccination. This is all information that can put people at risk of identity theft.
“The vaccination card not only has your name and date of birth, but it also shows when and where you were vaccinated. By posting images of this document on social media, you’re sharing sensitive data that may fall in bad hands,” the Healthline website said.
Is it really that risky?
While it may not appear that easy to use this information to commit identity theft, it is hazardous to share the information because criminals can use that piece of information to access other personal details.
“Think of it this way — identity theft works like a puzzle, made up of pieces of personal information. You don’t want to give identity thieves the pieces they need to finish the picture. One of those pieces is your date of birth,” the Federal Trade Commission said.
Like many occurrences, posting pictures of vaccine cards originates with social media and online trends. Because the coronavirus pandemic has been traumatic and strenuous for many, people are sharing their vaccine cards as a means of moving forward to normalcy. However, it is important to consider the risks before sharing online.
One student’s loophole to sharing their vaccine card
WSU Biology student Kameron Flanders is looking forward to getting vaccinated in the near future. As a future medical professional, Flanders considers getting vaccinated as crucial to the handling of the pandemic.
Flanders has an idea that might help students and others who want to share their vaccine cards but do not want their information exposed.
“I would post it but block out any identifying details so people couldn’t use the information to look me up,” Flanders said.
The WSU community is reminded to be careful with what personal information is posted online. Blocking out information is a safer way for students to get around the risks but still share their vaccine journey.
