Social Networking: Does it Put You at Risk?
Social networking is one of the hottest things in internet technology right now. But it might also be a breeding ground for identity thieves. Some people tend to think social networking is exclusively for teenagers (MySpace) and college students (Facebook), but an increasing number of business professionals (LinkedIn) and adults looking for love (Match, E-harmony…) have their own sets of profiles and online friends.
But with increased connection comes increased vulnerability to identity theft, especially in relationships where it can be hard to verify the identity of the person you are communicating with or where your personal information is made public through online profiles. Sure, you might be smart enough not to post your social security number or bank account info on your profile, but did you know that posting your birthday, full name or even your home phone number or address can be just as dangerous?
The Dangers of Online Networking
Social networking raises red flags concerning identity theft for primarily three reasons:
1) Anyone can pose as someone he or she isn’t. Some identity thieves create absolutely false profiles in order to befriend people and trick them into divulging their information. Sites that allow people to join various school or activity based groups can be a breeding ground for this type of activity. If a stranger walked up to you on the street and said he went to high school with you, you would probably realize you don’t remember him. But if he’s part of the online alumni group from your high school you might be more willing to engage in casual conversation and form an online friendship. Before you know it, casual conversation leads to the divulging of your personal information like where you live, what you do for a living and where you went to college. Even if you don’t release that information in conversation, the person you have “befriended” might be able to read it somewhere on your profile.
2) Different features and applications might allow strangers to access information you didn’t intend for them to. On certain sites, like Facebook which boasts 8 million users with 20,000 new people signing up everyday) users are encouraged to outfit their profiles with free online games that can be played with other members, and even decorations that add personality. Some networking sites even allow you to give cyber gifts to your friends. Buy everyone a round of drinks, or give your spouse the dream car he or she has been coveting all for free. But what most general users don’t realize is that adding an application is like adding a friend, and the creator of that application now has full access to all of the information you reveal about yourself in your profile. The creators of these applications aren’t legitimate business owners, but are usually nothing more than tech savvy social networkers with web developing skills. In some cases, they are even identity thieves looking for a way to access the private information of countless strangers.
3) Your personal information is out in the open. Sure you want your friends to have your newest phone number or to know you will be out of town on a short weekend getaway, but would you readily advertise that information if you knew the entire internet viewing world could read it? Probably not. But, unfortunately, people put their personal information out there every day. Even information that you may think is safe or harmless really isn’t.
Identity thieves are looking for very specific information, and they know which clues just might lead them to the goldmine they are looking for. If you are a social networker it’s important that you know what specific clues thieves are looking for so you don’t unknowingly give away information that can be used against you. Here are some tips to help you protect yourself:
Creating a Safe Online Presence
1) Don’t post addresses or phone numbers in your profile. Home or work addresses and phone numbers can be looked up in reverse search engines and thieves then have an excellent starting place to work from. They can have your mail rerouted to another address so your bills and other personal mail starts coming to them and they can begin committing credit card or bank fraud on your existing accounts. Or they can look you up in public records searches to learn more about you.
2) Use strong security settings for your profiles. Most online networking sites will allow you to choose who can see your full profile and who can just see a thumbnail version. Make sure you adjust your settings so only people who you know and authorize are allowed to view your full profile. Even if friends of friends are allowed to view personal information about you it might not be safe—especially if your friends blindly accept friend requests from anyone who contacts them. It’s reported that 74% of social networking users divulge personal information, so identity thieves troll those sites looking for someone—anyone—who hasn’t implemented the available safety precautions. So, don’t leave your profile on its default settings. Protection from identity theft is important and you should make every effort to safeguard yourself.
3) Only accept friend requests from people you know. If someone you know face to face sends you a friend request on a social networking site send them an offline email to verify that it really was them that sent you the request. Make sure it’s not a thief pretending to be someone you know, or someone else pulling a prank. If everything checks out you can go ahead and accept the request. If you receive a request from someone you don’t really know (or don’t think you know) send them a clarifying message through the website asking them to remind you where you know them from before accepting the friend request. Social networking sites can be used to spread viruses and malware and you don’t want to accept a request from someone looking to spam your account (and all of your real friend’s accounts) and attack you with a virus.
4) Be careful what you reveal about your daily schedule. Some social networking sites allow you to update your “status” and answer prompts like “What are you doing right now?” so that everyone who views your profile knows where you are or what you are doing. It might not be too dangerous to say you are watching a football game or cleaning the garage, but advertising that you are on vacation in Hawaii or gone at the office all day presents an ideal opportunity for a thief to come and scope out your house or rummage through your mail. If your mail is being held at the post office while you are on a trip, the thief can actually go to the post office pretending to be you to pick up your mail. So keep your whereabouts vague and don’t advertise when you won’t be home.
5) Realize that even people you know can be identity thieves. Statistics prove that at least some cases of identity theft occur in which the thief and the victim are acquainted at least on a casual basis. It’s been reported that 17% of adults and 55% of children know the person who has stolen their identity. So monitor the information you give to your friends and colleagues closely. Don’t put anything on your profile that you wouldn’t want on the front page of the newspaper.
6) Consider purchasing ID Secure. Purchasing a product like ID Secure might greatly increase your peace of mind as well as the level of protection guarding your identity. For just $12.99 a month a professional identity monitoring company will use advanced web crawling technology to search the internet and public records to make sure that your social security number, credit and ATM cards and other personal information isn’t being fraudulently used in any way. ID Secure makes sure your identity is being monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week helping to keep it safe. If fraudulent activity is suspected, you will be informed immediately. You can learn more by clicking here: https://www.idsecure.com/global/scripts/promo.asp?ref=OVSEEROSPAG0001 Right now, ID Secure is offering a special $1 promotion for your first month of service.
Online social networking can be a beneficial thing if you do it correctly. Just remember that even the most “private” profile on the internet is still on the internet and is, therefore, hackable. Viewing your personal profile as a public forum and handling your information accordingly can help you make great strides when it comes to identity theft prevention. When it comes to cyber contact, just make sure you don’t grow complacent and don’t ever let your guard down. When it comes to your identity, you’re the only one with everything to lose. So don’t leave it up to someone else to protect it.
