3 things to never post on Facebook

More and websites are posting personal information about us that anyone in the world can see.

One site generating lots of complaints right now is Spokeo, which lists not only your name and address, but your interests, friends, family, even how much your home is worth and how much you make (information that is often wrong.)

We Give Them Much of That Information

But it turns out they get much of that info from us, from social media sites like Facebook.

Consumer Reports Magazine's blog says many Facebook users are posting too much information, which can be found by foreign scam artists, data thieves, and even local petty criminals.

So it lists three things you should never post on Facebook.

Never Post This on Facebook

• One: Your full birthdate, especially the year: that's a ticket to ID theft. Month and day are fine for your friends. Leave the year out.
• Two: Photos of young children, with their names linked to the photo.
• Three: Saying online when you are going out of town, which is a welcome mat to local burglars.

Does this sound obvious? It's not. Consumer Reports says almost half of Facebook users post their full birthdate.

Consumer Reports Findings About What we Post

Consumer Reports, in its annual State of the Net Survey, found that:

• 42% of Facebook users post their full birthdate, which should be a no-no.
• 26% of parents have posted their kids' photos.
• 8% post their home address, another no-no.

And 36 percent have used Facebook apps or games without checking to see if they were safe or secure.

Remember, anything you post on Facebook can be found by anyone, anywhere. Consider it a public billboard. You probably would not want your 5-year-old girl's name and photo on a billboard for everyone to see.