Los Angeles, 8:36 PM
Tue Dec 8
By Adam Pash
Dec 8, 2009 8:35 AM 3,658 70
Accepting Friend Requests from People You Don’t Know Is a Recipe for ID Theft
According to a study conducted by computer security company Sophos, anywhere from 41 to 49 percent of users (by age group) they test-requested friendship with on Facebook accepted their invitation. The problem, as they see it: After they became friends with people they don’t know, they’ve got access to dates of birth, email addresses, the places they went to school, the town in which they live, and a lot more—basically it’s a great start gathering all of the things an identity thief would need to get the ball rolling. Do you blindly accept friend requests on Facebook? And if you do, do you have a limited profile set up for those people you don’t know that limits the personal information they can see? Let’s hear it in the comments. [Sophos via CNET]
Lori Cain, Realtor
Chinowth & Cohen Realtors
phone: 918.852.5036
web: www.LoriCain.com
