From Visa Applications to Job Searches: Managing Online Privacy as a Newcomer
Relocating to a new country, such as Canada, involves submitting personal information across various online platforms—from visa applications to job portals. While these steps are essential, they also leave behind a digital footprint, making newcomers more vulnerable to identity theft, fraud, and privacy breaches.
Each online form submitted stores personal data, often across multiple databases, some of which may lack proper security measures. Cybercriminals actively target exposed information, increasing the risk of unauthorized access and misuse. To mitigate these threats, it’s crucial for newcomers to proactively manage their online presence and limit unnecessary data exposure.
One effective step is to remove personal information from the internet wherever possible. By doing so, newcomers can reduce their digital footprint, enhance privacy, and protect themselves from cyber risks.
The Digital Trail of Immigration and Employment
When settling in Canada, here are some examples of how you could share your personal information on different platforms:
- Visa and Immigration Applications: You must provide your passport number, address, and financial records when submitting this form.
- Job Applications: To apply for jobs, as usual, you must create an account for different job boards, upload resumes, and provide your contact details.
- Social Media and Networking: LinkedIn and other platforms are great ways to connect with other employees or seek out new job offers, but they also showcase your personal details to the public.
- Essential Services: Setting up bank accounts, healthcare, or phone services requires you to share information for the purpose of identification.
While sharing information for any of these instances is essential, they still pose a high risk to privacy if they are not adequately secured.
Privacy Challenges for Newcomers
As a newcomer, here are some challenges you need to be aware of in order to avoid or minimize their risk:
- Identity Theft: One of the most common risks associated with privacy issues. If your personal details fall into the wrong hands, cybercriminals can use this information to open fraudulent accounts using your identity.
- Scams Targeting Immigrants: Cybercriminals often pick newcomer immigrants as a target for many different scams. They can pretend to be government officials or potential employers asking for more sensitive information.
- Data Breaches: Websites can store your data; if they are hacked, your data is exposed for misuse and could be leaked.
- Oversharing on Public Platforms: Sharing too many details on social media is getting you one step closer to becoming a target for scams or unwanted contacts.
Understanding and awareness of these risks is the first step in protecting your personal data.
Practical Steps to Safeguard Online Privacy
To keep your information safer while moving to Canada, we have prepared a list of practical steps you can take to keep your online privacy:
- Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Create unique and strong passwords for different websites. Use a mix of letters, symbols, and numbers. Even though this seems repetitive, it is the first step to making it challenging for cybercriminals to access your data. Make sure to enable 2FA on essential accounts. 2FA provides an additional layer of protection when logging into your account. It involves an additional code sent to your email or SMS.
- Adjust Privacy Settings on Job and Social Media Platforms: Remember that you can adjust who sees your personal information, such as on LinkedIn or job boards. Also, avoid sharing your home address or other sensitive data.
- Be Cautious with Resumes: Don’t include your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or full home address on your resume. Share your resume only with trusted employers or recruiters.
- Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN): Using a VPN makes using public Wi-Fi networks safer by encrypting your internet connection. Accessing sensitive accounts, such as banking or immigration portals, is made much easier with this.
- Stay Aware of Scams: As we have already mentioned, scams are getting harder to recognize. This is why you need to be on high alert and pay close attention to the emails or notifications you are getting. Double-check if they are a trusted source or suspicious.
By following these quick steps, you will be one step closer to protecting your privacy. Staying aware of these risks will help you minimize the chances of misusing your data.
Balancing Visibility and Security in a New Country
Building an online presence is important for job hunting, but you should always control what information is visible:
- Be Selective with Information: While sharing your work experience and achievements is fine, avoid posting personal details.
- Check Your Online Profiles: Regularly check your privacy settings and the information you share online. Remove information you no longer want to be displayed to the public.
- Use Platforms Cautiously: LinkedIn is an excellent platform for building connections, but you should still be cautious when connecting with strangers.
After moving to Canada, you have to adjust to a new life, and it’s critical that you protect your personal information when dealing with the immigration system, job searching, and essential services. You can secure your information and steer clear of typical risks by using strong security measures, minimizing the personal information you give online, and keeping up with privacy laws. By following these easy steps, you can confidently move to Canada and ensure your online privacy is protected.