Facebook Too Friendly with ID Details
Irresponsible behavior on social networking Websites such as Facebook is exposing users to ID theft, warns IT security firm Sophos.
An undercover survey of Facebook users by Sophos found that 41 percent were willing to share private information with complete strangers. The information given away included e-mail addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers, all of which could be used to steal a victim's ID, gain access to online user accounts, or, potentially, infiltrate their employersÆ computer networks. The test the friendliness of Facebook users, Sophos set up a profile page for ôFreddi Staurö (an anagram of ôID Fraudsterö), a small green plastic frog who divulged minimal personal information about himself. Sophos then sent out 200 ôfriend requestsö to observe how many people would respond, and how much personal information could be gleaned from the respondents. Of the 87 respondents, 82 divulged personal information, Boston, Massachusetts-based Sophos says. Facebook users can either accept or reject incoming friend requests. If accepted, they allow the sender to gain access to their Facebook profile. Users can also choose whether to allow the sender to see all of their details, or restrict them to viewing a limited section of their profile. ôWhatÆs worrying is how easy it was for Freddi to go about his business,ö Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, says in a statement. ôHe now has enough information to create phishing emails or malware specifically targeted at individual users or businesses, to guess usersÆ passwords, impersonate them or even stalk them. Related Links
www.sophos.com/
Identity Theft Climbs in Small US Cities
Card data stolen from Stop & Shop stores
U.S. Payment Fraud On the Rise
Canada Bank Looking for Facebook Friends
Add a comment
