With the immense user growth attributed to the social networking phenomenon comes a widening criminal appeal focusing on the likes of MySpace, Facebook and Bebo in order to commit identity fraud by taking personal details from user profiles.
With identity theft on the rise, social network users are warned against posting personal details to the likes of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. Credit: Bebo
More pointedly, a new ICM study carried out in the United Kingdom has revealed that around 25 percent of those users signed up to social networking Web sites are unknowingly providing criminals with ample opportunity to strike by posting sensitive information on their personal pages.
A Channel 4 article points out that government-backed research for this week’s ‘Get Safe Online’ drive in the UK uncovered that approximately 10.8 million nationwide social network users are leaving themselves open to possible attack by including exploitable details such as their phone number and date of birth on their profiles.
The poll, which covered some 2,000 adults, found that the risk of online identity theft rose to 34 percent across those social network users placed within the 18-to-24-year-old age bracket. And, worryingly, the study also returned that around 13 percent of users actually posted information relating to other people without their prior consent, which again rose through 27 percent when gauging 18-to-24-year-olds.
"The risks we are highlighting today can be easily fixed and do not mean that people should stop using social networking sites and wireless networks," commented Cabinet Office minister Gillian Merron regarding the rise of online identity theft. "People simply need to take a few basic steps and simple precautions which they can find by going to ‘getsafeonline.org’ to help keep themselves, their families and their businesses safe online."
Social network users are advised to exercise caution in terms of the personal details they choose to post on their public profiles, especially as criminals gather it to access bank accounts, apply for loans and overdrafts, and create and use credit cards – all in someone else’s name.
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