Social-Networking Sites Are A Fraudster's Paradise

Sites such as Facebook and myspace are leaving us vulnerable to fraud. Here are some tips to protect yourself from financial loss.

Nearly one in three social networkers on sites such as Facebook and Friends Reunited risk becoming victims of identity fraud because they are negligent with their personal details.Research conducted by Equifax has revealed that nearly a third (31%) of social networkers do not use security and privacy settings on their profiles, making them a prime target for phishing and other ID fraud. (Phishers steal personal details by sending phoney emails and leading you to fake websites, which might look like your bank's, for example.)With an estimated 28 million members registered on Facebook and 16 million on Friends Reunited, social-networking sites have turned into a potential field day for phishers.Of the 739 people polled (a relatively small survey, but it still has some significant figures), 87% published their full names and 38% their dates of birth, with more than a quarter offering their education and work details.Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director at Equifax said: `What people don't seem to realise is how valuable this information is. These sites can act like a directory for fraudsters.'It's terrifying how little information fraudsters need to be able to open accounts in an individual's name, rack up huge debts and leave the victim at best to spend hundreds of hours sorting out the problem and at worse, picking up the bill.'The survey shows men are more relaxed about giving away personal details such as address, telephone number and email than their female counterparts. Almost twice as many male networkers stated they had put their address on the sites compared to women.However, women seem to take a more laissez-faire approach when it comes to revealing their date of birth. Nearly half (45%) of women said they put this information on social network sites compared to 34% of men, despite suggestions by experts that this information is often the real key to opening the door for ID fraudsters.The generation gap has also revealed some marked differences. Nearly all (96%) of twenty-somethings published their full names on the sites, compared to 71% of 40- to 50-year-olds. This was also true of security settings. Almost a third (29%) of the younger generation said they didn't use them, with just 17% of 40- to 50-year-olds stating this.So what can be done to prevent potential fraud? The safest thing to do is to set all privacy settings to private, to ensure that sensitive information is kept hidden from prying eyes. This can easily be done by following the appropriate instructions on each site.If you're a cyber-exhibitionist, you should adjust at least some of your privacy settings, such as hiding personal information in your public profile, and being cautious about the details available in the public domain.And finally, even if all your information is safely hidden away, don't be tempted to accept a friend request from somebody you don't know. Boosting up your numbers may look good for your popularity, but you can be assured that if you give a fraudster access to your personal details, it will cramp more than just your style: it may end up costing you your identity.