There are certain things that you should not tweet because they are annoying: your FourSquare check-ins; Instagram photos of your lunch meat; the artist and the song you are currently listening to on iTunes.
And then there are tweets that cross over the line from annoying to stupid. For example -- I don't know, just spit-ballin' here -- tweeting out photos of the front of your debit card with none of the numbers blacked out.
This idiotic practice is being highlighted on a new Twitter account called @NeedADebitCard, which is actively retweeting the posts of the unfortunate dullards who tweet out photos of their unobscured debit cards. @NeedADebitCard's Twitter bio is also its mission statement and -- perhaps! -- the best advice you'll hear all week: "Please quit posting pictures of your debit cards, people."
@NeedADebitCard's feed is populated by posts like this (photos not included because, come on):
- "Gave the birthday girl my credit card her for bday, go nuts bbgirl! [PHOTO OF DEBIT CARD]"
- "NO MORE WAITING IN LINE WHEN I DON'T HAVE MY DEBIT CARD [PHOTO OF DEBIT CARD]"
- "Just found my credit card :) Haha [MIND-BLOWINGLY READABLE PHOTO OF DEBIT CARD]"
The @NeedADebitCard Twitter sounds cruel, but it's also something of a public service: If you don't think thieves are already trawling Twitter and other social networks for this information, you're wrong. You shouldn't publicly share pictures of your debit cards on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, just like you shouldn't publicly share when you are going to be away from your home on vacation (as the site PleaseRobMe.com made clear).
So, if you have the urge to create and post a tweet that contains a photograph of your debit card, my advice to you is to take a breath, eat a Twizzler and tweet something that would be less cataclysmically stupid to make public. Unlike a tweet with your credit card information in plain view, there is very little that most thieves can do with an Instagram photo of your lunch meat that could directly lead to your bankruptcy and financial ruin.
Dear Everyone: Please stop posting your debit card online. Your friends, @NeedADebitCard.