LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- Most people's homes contain a network of things that connect to the web. Thieves are able to steal your information through smart devices in your home, even vacuums and cameras, all because these devices are connected to the internet.

Better Business Bureau Serving Acadiana CEO Chris Babin said internet service providers collect and share far more personal data than customers expect.

"If that network itself were potentially compromised or a scammer has access to that network to where they can then access all of the devices that are also connected to it, you know, that would be something we want to make sure we think about," Babin said.

Think about what private information internet service providers can collect from devices connected to the network. They know your sensitive information like race, economic status, political affiliation and religious beliefs, sharing it to advertisers. They even share your app usage history and real-time location.

"A lot of times when they're trying to collect information about your browsing habits, things that you've watched or things that you're doing with your device itself- if they're able to get into it, really what they want to do with that is compile a profile of who you are," Babin said.

"Then, they can then sell that information to other companies that may be able to sell or market toward you based on the things that you're looking at online and things that they know that they're interested in," he continued.

To protect this private information from scammers. only connect your devices to networks you trust. Keep your network secure with passwords.

"Protecting our phone, making sure that we have, if it's a computer- antivirus, malware protections installed, and only signing up or connecting to Wi-Fi networks that are secure," Babin said.

"So, secure in the sense that they have a password. It's not something that everybody can connect to because when that happens, that's where scammers can take advantage of our connected devices," he continued.

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