If you've ever entered personal information into an online contest, your data is probably being used in ways you didn't expect, according to Julie Brill, a commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission. In the video above, Brill shares with HuffPost Live tips for protecting your online presence, from staying on top of your credit score to checking the privacy settings on your social media profiles.
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Before You Go
1
Neil Buchanan
Tim Roney via Getty Images
Rumours of the Art Attack host's death seemingly go around every week, and they're always devastating. And usually always wrong.
Neil lives on, playing guitar for 30-year-old heavy metal band Marseille.
Neil lives on, playing guitar for 30-year-old heavy metal band Marseille.
2
Kel Mitchell
Archive Photos via Getty Images
One half of classic Nickelodeon duo Kenan & Kel, Mitchell was victim of a pre-Twitter viral death hoax. The news actually circulated via a chain email (remember those?).
He said: "It’s shocking to me that someone would sit there and say someone else died... When they said that, it was like people started looking me up to see what was going on and if I was alive. It basically changed everything around. It actually worked out in my benefit."
He said: "It’s shocking to me that someone would sit there and say someone else died... When they said that, it was like people started looking me up to see what was going on and if I was alive. It basically changed everything around. It actually worked out in my benefit."
3
Barack Obama
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hackers took control of Fox News' Twitter account on the morning of 4 July 2011, and posted: "BREAKING NEWS: @BarackObama assassinated, 2 gunshot wounds have proved too much."
The hackers even went on to wish Joe Biden luck as the new commander-in-chief, and begged users to retweet to show their support.
Luckily, the President was totally not shot and went on to win another term. Unless you're a conspiracy theorist, in which case he WAS shot and got replaced by a shape-shifting reptile without the public's knowledge.
The hackers even went on to wish Joe Biden luck as the new commander-in-chief, and begged users to retweet to show their support.
Luckily, the President was totally not shot and went on to win another term. Unless you're a conspiracy theorist, in which case he WAS shot and got replaced by a shape-shifting reptile without the public's knowledge.
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4
Rowan Atkinson
ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
A fake CNN source once claimed the Mr Bean actor had committed suicide due to being dropped from the third Johnny English film.
Needless to say, he's still around and still making us laugh.
Needless to say, he's still around and still making us laugh.
5
Morgan Freeman
Facebook
Beloved actor Morgan Freeman is often victim of death hoaxes, as well as being confused with any black actor that dies.
6
Fidel Castro
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The former Cuban leader was believed to be dead in 2014 due to an accidentally published obituary by an Italian news site.
The Cuban government released pictures to prove Castro was still alive.
The Cuban government released pictures to prove Castro was still alive.
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7
Jeff Goldblum
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Veteran actor Jeff Goldblum was forced to interrupt a news report of his own death on Comedy Central after Twitter went nuts with a story of him falling to his death from a cliff in New Zealand.
In true form, he delivered his own eulogy: "No one will miss Jeff Goldblum more than me. He was not only a friend and a mentor, but he was also... me."
In true form, he delivered his own eulogy: "No one will miss Jeff Goldblum more than me. He was not only a friend and a mentor, but he was also... me."
8
Mehdi Hasan
Twitter/@mehdirhasan
Reports of the HuffPost UK political director's death were greatly exaggerated, leaving Mehdi to tweet throughout the day that he was, in fact, alive and people were getting him confused with Pakistani singer Mehdi Hassan, who passed away on the 13 June, 2012.
9
Robbie Williams
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The untimely and harrowing death of actor Robin Williams was misunderstood by some, who thought it was actually former Take That member Robbie Williams who had died.
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10
King Abdullah
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Before his actual death in January, reports often circulated of the Saudi king's passing but it wasn't until state television began playing Quranic verses that we knew for sure.
11
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Andrew Lincoln and more...
Wikimedia Commons
All five of these celebs have been rumoured to have died while snowboarding in Zermatt, Switzerland. If that's some kind of weird attempt at viral marketing by a Swiss snowboard rental shop, they need to rethink their strategy.
Charlie Sheen and Adam Sandler have also been reported to meet the same fate.
Charlie Sheen and Adam Sandler have also been reported to meet the same fate.
12
Kim Jong-Un
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This one comes from China's version of Twitter, Sina Weibo. A year after Kim Jong-Il passed away, the new North Korean leader's death was reported by a fake BBC News account, which stated: "Confirmed breaking news. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un assassinated. Updates to follow."
The user claimed Kim had been the victim of a military coup while on a trip to Beijing, but as far as we can tell he's still alive and dictating.
The user claimed Kim had been the victim of a military coup while on a trip to Beijing, but as far as we can tell he's still alive and dictating.
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13
Justin Bieber
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
The whining Canadian pop brat started rumours of his own death while tweeting about the passing of his grandfather of the same name.
The number of people retweeting him caused "RIP Justin Bieber" to trend, meaning every Twitter user saw it pop up in their sidebar.
The number of people retweeting him caused "RIP Justin Bieber" to trend, meaning every Twitter user saw it pop up in their sidebar.
14
Spongebob Squarepants
Bob Levey via Getty Images
Tom Kenny, the voice of many beloved children's characters, was reported dead on Twitter despite being very much alive.
Pictures apparently "deserving endless retweets" begun circulating and left a lot of people devastated, but Kenny is still kicking and voicing Spongebob to this day.
Pictures apparently "deserving endless retweets" begun circulating and left a lot of people devastated, but Kenny is still kicking and voicing Spongebob to this day.
15
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi/Facebook
In 2011, fake news reports stated Job Bon Jovi had died of a cardiac arrest. The "Livin' On A Prayer" singer responded to the stories with a ridiculously cute picture captioned "Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey".
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16
Cher
Jeff Daly/Invision/AP
A vast amount of non-politically minded people saw #nowthatchersdead (Now Thatcher's Dead) trending on Twitter after the passing of the former Prime Minister and misread it as "Now That Cher's Dead", prompting a general upset among fans of auto-tune everywhere.
Luckily for her fans, Cher is still doing regular shows in Las Vegas.
Luckily for her fans, Cher is still doing regular shows in Las Vegas.
17
Danny Dyer
John Phillips/Invision/AP
'Eastenders' hard-man Danny Dyer was reported dead in January by a scrapyard worker, who was just having a bit of a jolly with his mates on Facebook before it all got out of hand and went viral.
Responding in true fashion, Twitter's hardest man said: "I'm alive..much 2 the despair of whoever that sick p***k on face book is saying..don't let em get in ya nut my loves."
Responding in true fashion, Twitter's hardest man said: "I'm alive..much 2 the despair of whoever that sick p***k on face book is saying..don't let em get in ya nut my loves."
18
Pope Benedict XVI
ANDREAS SOLARO via Getty Images
During the German Pope's reign, a fake Twitter account claiming to represent Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone tweeted that the Holy Father had died. The Vatican rushed to deny the rumours and Benedict is now residing in the newly renovated Mater Ecclesiae monastery.
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19
Kirk Douglas
Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Legendary 97-year-old actor Kirk Douglas is still alive, even though People magazine accidentally published his obituary in November 2014.
The article was published with the headline "DO NOT PUB Kirk Douglas Dies", which means an intern probably got a royal telling off.
The article was published with the headline "DO NOT PUB Kirk Douglas Dies", which means an intern probably got a royal telling off.
20
Bill Murray
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
A fake news site claimed in 2009 that the comedian had killed himself as part of a longstanding death pact with stars such as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.
He isn't dead, he's still being funny over in the US.
He isn't dead, he's still being funny over in the US.
21
Usher
Twitter
This R&B singer was victim of a fake news generator which claimed he was killed in a car crash, prompting him to respond with this shirtless Twitter pic.
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22
Russell Crowe
Twitter
Another fake news generator, another sweet Twitter response. This time it was The Gladiator, and he issued a statement basically saying "I'm not dead, but if the media says it, it must be true".
23
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Twitter
The Rock showed those fakers whose boss with this angry tweet.
24
Miley Cyrus
Facebook
After being the subject of a car crash death hoax in 2008, the "Wrecking Ball" singer fell victim to a Facebook scam alleging a drug overdose in 2014.
The click-bait was designed to get people through to a website which would demand they fill out an online survey.
The click-bait was designed to get people through to a website which would demand they fill out an online survey.
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25
Chris Brown
Scott Legato via Getty Images
A graphic-seeming picture of the rapper emerged on Twitter which appeared to show his dead body, causing a stir on social media.
The same image started to do the rounds again after Brown was hospitalised following a seizure in 2013.
The same image started to do the rounds again after Brown was hospitalised following a seizure in 2013.
26
Macauley Culkin
Mark Mainz via Getty Images
'Home Alone' actor Macauley Culkin was believed to be dead at 34 after a fake news site reported he had been found unconscious in his apartment.
Child star Macauley responded to the stories of his death by posting a 'Weekend At Bernie's'-style picture on his Instagram.
Child star Macauley responded to the stories of his death by posting a 'Weekend At Bernie's'-style picture on his Instagram.