New Facebook 'Places' feature comes under fire

Posted in 'Identity Theft' by Richard Catlin

26 August 2010

26 million people in the UK use Facebook to inform their ‘friends’ what they are up to, upload embarrassing photos and voice their views on current events.

Meanwhile privacy campaigners have become increasingly vocal against the way that personal information is used on social networking websites. Facebook hit the headlines earlier this year when it updated its privacy settings without consulting users – potentially opening up access to personal information to people outside of their friend circle.

In July, the details of around 100 million users were published online by a security firm trying to highlight the risks of posting information online without checking who could see it.

Facebook’s launch of Places – initially in the USA but with the UK set to follow shortly – has reopened the debate. Not only are there now concerns over what information people could glean from a profile, but also how they might exploit geotagging in conjunction with status updates.

A seemingly innocuous brag about “heading off on holiday for 2 weeks” might only provoke jealous replies from people you actually know, but without sufficient security settings, your Facebook profile could also effectively let criminals know when you leave the country - not good news.

Similar concerns about how the data could even put individual’s personal safety at risk have also been voiced.

The surge in the amount of information we willingly share online has lead to criminals increasingly seeking to exploit it for their own ends. Using the data that some people give up willingly on social networks such as Facebook – including date of birth, home town, and where they grew up (making place of birth easy to guess) – fraudsters don’t have to work too hard to steal an identity.

Many victims of identity crime have remained completely unaware that they have been targeted – until they are turned down unexpectedly for credit or have a debt collector knocking on the door.

As well as taking steps to limit the amount of information you willingly share online, and who you share it with, you can improve your chances of staying safe from identity thieves by using our free Identity Theft Check Service. It’ll highlight any areas of your lifestyle that put you at increased risk – including the way you use social networking sites – and let you know what steps you can take to better protect yourself.

Free Identity Theft Check