subject: Why Social Networking Sites Are Playgrounds For Identity Thieves [print this page] Why Social Networking Sites Are Playgrounds For Identity Thieves
Millions of young people have made themselves vulnerable to identity theft as well as putting their professional prospects at risk by carelessly posting personal information on the Internet. Social networking is growing in popularity, however a recent study indicates that users of social networking websites engage in risky behavior, potentially putting themselves at risks to hackers and identity thieves. It's all fun and games until someone becomes a victim-then the nightmare begins.
Below are two very popular networking sites that the younger generation particularly enjoys visiting and their risk involved.
Facebook - Users generally have to be friends to access each others' profile pages, which increases privacy but lulls people into a false sense of security and does not protect users who accept friends whether they know them or not. Of particular concern is the wealth of personal information: 82% of Facebook users list their birth date, a security question often used by banks.
MySpace - Users tend to leave fewer personal details on their pages than Facebook but a much greater proportion of profile pages are accessible to everyone and users often let slip private details such as phone numbers or event addresses on profile walls. Because of its younger demographic, all pages registered to users under the age of 16 are private - but many young users choose to circumvent this by entering a false age. The flexibility of MySpace has been repeatedly exploited by rogue Internet users, including one who managed to redirect users to a site espousing conspiracy theories over the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. The site was hit by a string of security alerts and a bug within the past few years.
By impersonating a highly-reputable person, an attacker might gain access to that person's social network, business contacts and private life. Spammers might launch highly personalized campaigns. And sexual predators could use their victims' friend lists to find more people to harass. So please let's not lose sight of the fact that adults too visit these networking sites. Some use them to keep in touch with friends and family, while others see it more as a means to contact new potential clients. Adults who use social networking sites may be putting themselves and their businesses at risk as well. Almost half of the people who have computer access engage in social networking at the office, potentially making the workplace vulnerable to online security threats. I do know of a lot of companies that have restricted sites such as MySpace for this very reason. If I were the boss I wouldn't appreciate the fact that you were on my dollar surfing the net and potentially causing serious damage to the company. Try explaining that data breach to your boss! YIKES!
Social networking sites are popular among cyber crooks because a reliable social context improves the results of phishing attacks. The University of Indiana carried out a controlled phishing attack in 2005, targeting students who left contact data on social networking websites. The results showed that when users were contacted by someone they believed might know them; they were far more likely to provide personal details. Women were more vulnerable than men, and the success of the attacks improved when the phisher was a member of the opposite sex
Users of social-networking sites may already be linked to a cyber thief, according to Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, an Internet security firm: "The idea of six degrees of separation works on social networking sites as well. You're probably only six clicks from a criminal, and you're probably already linked to a cyber crook."
I have a younger sister who uses MySpace and she had ALL of her personal information on her profile, without realizing the damage that could be done. Unless you're up to date with identity theft, I'm not sure it would really cross your mind not to post your birth date, I mean, after all, that's how you receive all of those wonderful birthday wishes from people you haven't talked to in years! Let's just say the only piece of personal info on her profile now is her first name.
According to social networks analyst Clay Shirky, identity spoofing is possibly the greatest threat to social discovery networks. "When your reputation is valuable, it becomes worth exploiting. It makes a stolen identity a more valuable commodity."
Protecting yourself, as much as you can, from the fastest growing crime in America appears to be more of a need, than a want. Wouldn't you agree?
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