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 05 September 2008 10:39 BST

Social networking sites increase risk of ID fraud

Thursday, 21 Feb 2008 17:22
New study shows using social networking sites such as Facebook increases the risk of ID fraud.
Using social networking sites such as Facebook increases the risk of identity fraud, a new study has found.

Research carried out by Which? magazine has revealed that important personal information can be easily viewed on publicly accessible websites, leaving internet users open to the threat of ID theft and fraud.

And firms such as Transport for London (TfL) and Virgin Mobile were also cited during the study for failing to inform their customers about the use of their data.

Using the default privacy setting on websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo was found to be a particular vulnerability of social networking, as fraudsters are able to access every person in the same network.

And using Google the profiles of thousands of MySpace and Bebo users can be accessed, with fraudsters able to gather personal information before using this data to discover vital security knowledge such as passwords and pin numbers.

"It was a real shock to see how much personal information about me could be found online, which could potentially be used by crooks to commit fraud," said Neil Fowler, editor of Which? magazine.

"We all need to take steps to protect our data - both online and offline - by being more aware of how our personal data could be used and taking care who we share it with."

The research also showed that TfL neglects to inform users of the Oyster Card system that it records their journey data - a spokesperson said the information was held for "administration and customer services".

Virgin Mobile put its sharing of customer data down to a desire to "develop your service for the future".

However, both of these policies may be in contravention of the Data Protection Act.

Mr Fowler added: "Which? is concerned that some private companies aren't complying with the Data Protection Act and we urge them to tighten up their processes so that consumers can be reassured that their data is in safe hands."

Which? magazine recommends regularly checking bank and credit card statements for unfamiliar transactions, using a shredder for documentation no longer needed and refusing to give personal or bank details to third parties.

Internet users should also try to provide only the minimum details on social networking sites, the publication warned.End of story


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