Facebook: how to keep safe and the things you should never do

Fraudsters use social media sites like Facebook to harvest personal information. So here are some tips to avoid over-sharing and falling victim to identity thieves,

Fraudsters targeting social media users

More and more young people are becoming victims of identity theft – and social media could be to blame.

Fraud prevention service Cifas has released figures showing a 52% rise in young identity fraud victims in the UK. Nearly 24,000 people aged 30 and under were victims of identity fraud last year. This is up from 15,766 in 2014, and is more than double the 11,000 victims in this age bracket in 2010.

Identity fraud happens when a fraudster pretends to be an innocent individual to buy a product or take out a loan in their name. To do this they need to collate personal information about their victim such as their name, date of birth, address, their bank and who they hold accounts with.

Unfortunately, social media, Facebook especially, makes this very easy to do. So here are some tips on what you should never do on Facebook, to help you avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

Keep your profile public

The first thing to do to keep your personal information safe on Facebook is to make sure your profile is set to private.

By adjusting your privacy settings, you can ensure only your friends see anything you post or share.

Picture: David M G / Shutterstock.com

State your address

Your home address is one of the pieces of information most useful to fraudsters – so keep it to yourself.

It might sound like common sense but don’t include your address anywhere on your Facebook profile.

As well as being used for ID theft, fraudsters knowing your address can also compromise your home security. If you “check-in” to other locations, or post holiday pictures, potential burglars will know when you’re not at home.

Reveal your birthday

It’s lovely when all your friends wish you happy birthday on Facebook but posting your date of birth is handing vital information to conmen.

It’s best to not list the date at all but if you must, at least leave out the year.

List your contact number

Never add your home or mobile number to your Facebook page (even when Facebook asks you too).

Not only will this make you a target for scam callers, it also makes you easily searchable online.

Picture: antb / Shutterstock.com

Give password clues

You might regularly mention kids’ and pets’ names on Facebook, or your favourite sports team.

But if these names and details are also your passwords for online banking and other accounts, you could be giving fraudsters an easy ride.

To come up with more secure passwords take a look at: How to protect your PINs and passwords.

Post pictures of tickets...

You might be excited about securing tickets to the latest Justin Bieber concert – but don’t post pictures of your tickets online.

Scammers search sites for such posts and are able to create fake tickets by copying the barcode. It means that when the genuine holder arrives at the event, he or she could find that someone who bought one of the fakes has already used it to get in.

AXS, the booking service for London’s O2 arena, has warned customers that “sharing images of your tickets via social media can lead to others being able to gain access with your ticket”.

…and flight boarding passes

Posting a smug photo of your boarding pass just before you jet off to sunnier climes might be tempting but you could be handing a lot of information to fraudsters.

Boarding pass barcodes hold a lot of information about the traveller and there are dodgy websites that can read barcode data.

This could enable pranksters to log into your flight booking and change the details or even cancel your seat. Booking details are also likely to include your home address and phone number as well as information about your holiday plans.

Trust brands

If you want to vent your spleen about poor service from a company or brand, watch out for the authenticity of any responses on social media.

According to RiskIQ, experts in external threat management, 65% of Brits engage with retail brands on social media with 44% saying they click on links provided by brands.

But some brands active on Facebook and Twitter aren’t what they seem – they’re “brand impersonators” instead. These fake accounts will ask for your details and account numbers when offering to sort out the problem – then use the details to steal your identity. Others may post links purporting to help you resolve your issue. But these could lead to malware, ransomware or credential harvesting sites.

So double check a company is genuine before sending your details and never post personal details on brand pages anyone can see.

Accept friends you already have

A common scam for fraudsters is to set up a second, fake, Facebook profile for a person using photos available online, then send friend requests to the real person’s friends.

If the friend request is accepted the fraudster can now see all of their new friend’s posts and personal information.

There’s also the possibility your friends’ accounts have been hacked or they forgot to log out when using a public computer.

So before adding a friend you have already connected with, double check what’s going on by contacting them directly.

Add people you don't know

Finally, beware of any friend requests from any stunningly attractive members of the opposite sex you don’t know in real life – they’re usually fraudsters keen to lure you into revealing personal information.

Check for suspicious activity on your accounts by taking a look at your credit report. Get free access to your credit report for 30 days from Experian and Equifax with loveMONEY today.