Microsoft and Dutch boy band pull a prank to teach teens a lesson about online privacy

Dennis Bednarz

Privacy is a hot topic nowadays, and that’s for a good reason. Nobody wants their data stolen, personal info accessed, or addresses exposed. A boy band, B-Brave, together with Microsoft, showcased how easy it is to get your personal information stolen just by posting a picture on the internet.

It all started when the boy-band-member, Dioni Jurado, “accidentally” leaked the phone number of his bandmate, Kaj van der Voort. Over 600 phone calls and 4’000 WhatsApp messages were made and sent to his number. But this was no accident. This was a stunt, made to trick the Dutch teenagers to show them how easy it is to get into trouble.

It was revealed that it was a hoax, and why it was done, today in a YouTube video (via Fortune):

The video explains that you should think twice before posting an E-mail address, phone number, or racy picture on the internet because it could lead to unwanted consequences. Results of a survey have also been revealed, showing that over 60% of all Dutch teens had the same password across all devices and services, a quarter have shared their login information with friends, and almost one in five have experienced someone logging into their account(s) without their permission.

These are serious numbers that the dutch teens, me, you, we need to make sure get lower and lower. Let us know in the comments whether or not you take better care of your own information.