Sharing photos on social media can cost you dear

Tim Westwood has hit the headlines for sharing a photo that he should have kept to himself on social media. The DJ didn't expose any part of his physique, instead he took a photo of his credit card, and accidentally shared it with all his followers. It left him with a serious financial headache, and is a useful reminder of the photos that can cost us dear if we share them online.

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Westwood had apparently meant to share the photo with a woman he was going on a date with - so she could buy 'nails, hair and a wax. Even some new shoes or a clutch bag". He added that there was no limit on the card.

He revealed in a later Snapchat post that it had been screen-grabbed 186 times, and because he'd had to cancel the card, he'd been stranded on holiday in Bermuda with no credit.

Over-sharing

The gesture itself has divided opinion over whether he was being generous or sexist, but what everyone agrees on is that sharing a photo of your credit card on social media - even with an individual you trust - is a serious no no.

Not only are you liable to run into this kind of issue, but there's also the risk that anyone able to access your account can then get hold of your details. Even if the photo is only ever seen by the one person you wanted to share it with, you have no guarantee they will spend as you expect - especially if you only know them via social media.

Five risky photos

It's not the only photo that absolutely cannot be shared online. We reveal five photos that could cost you more than you think:

Your passport

Instagram is littered with photos of passports - many with a handy passport hashtag to make them easier to find. The real risk here is revealing the mugshot page - where your full name, date of birth, and passport number are clearly visible to identity thieves.

Your payslip

You might want to brag to your friends about your hefty salary, or boast about a new job, but a photo of your payslip is a terrible way to do this. It features your National Insurance number - which is a huge help to fraudsters who want to steal your identity.

A betting slip

In 2015 a woman from Perth in Australia posted a selfie with a betting slip, after her horse came in first and won her £384. When she went to collect the money, she was told that someone had already picked up the money. She hadn't realised that her betting slip included a barcode, so someone could use the photo to collect the cash at an automated machine.

A boarding pass

It's a tempting way to gloat abut your jet-setting, but Australian airmiles guru Steve Hui carried out an experiment last year to see what he could discover using the information on a pass. He was able to use the details to log into the booking and access everything from flight itineraries to credit card details.

Concert tickets

It's easy to get excited when the tickets arrived and share photos with your friends. However, if you reveal the barcode, it can be used to create fakes - so that when you arrive at the venue, you will be denied entry. The experts say there's nothing stopping you sharing your newly-arrived tickets - just make sure your hand is over the barcode in the snap.