Lauren's List: What "Not" To Share On Social Media

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - We're all probably guilty of sharing just a little too much on social media.

What we had for lunch, what we wore to work and our child's latest milestone. That all pretty harmless, but our latest "Lauren's List" will have you thinking twice before oversharing online.

In some cases, sharing too much can cost you.

First up, your birth year and place of birth.

We love to wake up to a slew of "Happy Birthday" messages on our Facebook wall on our big day, but there's no need to give the full date, year included.

Carnegie Mellon researchers recently discovered that crooks could reconstruct social security numbers using an individual's full birthday and place of birth. So leave out those details to protect yourself.

Also be sure to leave out your mother's maiden name.

How many sites ask for your mother's maiden name as a security question? A lot!

Try to avoid sharing that info on your page so potential hackers don't have that extra bit of info to make it easier to log in to your accounts.

Photos showing your home layout are also a big no-no.

Experts have long said not to post when you'd be on vacation, because that's basically telling burglars, "Hey, I'm not home. Rob me!"

Take this a step further by not giving them a blueprint of your house while you're at it.

Finally, keep your "risky" behavior to yourself.

If you like to race cars, go hang gliding or smoke like a chimney, insurers want to know. Insure.com says they are increasingly turning to social media to figure out whether applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk.

So tell us, what's your rule of thumb for what not to post publically?

Tell us on Facebook at Facebook.com/LaurenPastranaNews or Twitter @LaurenPastrana.

If you have an idea for a future "Lauren's List", email lpastrana@cbs.com and you might see your topic on TV.