Many people turn to Linkedin to find that next job and to make business connections.

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But, at the same time, many of those people put themselves in jeopardy of identity theft by posting seemingly innocuous information, like where they work, what they do, and where they went to school.

“I didn't know that people could use that information to steal your identity,” said Josh Garcia of Eastern Shore, Md.

“You could be exposing a lot more of yourself than you really planned on doing,” said online security expert Paige Hanson.

“You know, once they have your name and where you work, they can find your address. Once they have your address, it’s probably pretty easy to find out where you bank,” Hanson said.

Linkedin is different from other sites like Facebook where restrictive security settings can protect you.
On the business networking site, the whole point is to put yourself out there.

“You don't want to restrict so much access that they can't find you, that you aren't marketable,” Hanson said.

So, scrutinize every piece of information you post on Linkedin, and if it's not absolutely necessary, Hanson says, take it out.

“Yes, it may hinder somebody from looking at your profile, but if they really want to they'll add you as a connection,” Hanson added.

“That's good to know. I'll change my practices,” said Mike Aldridge of northeast D.C.

One more way to protect yourself from Linkedin hackers is to make sure you have very strong passwords on all your personal accounts. Don't use birthdays or the names of your kids or pets because they can usually find all that information online very easily.