Beware what you share
Information that you share on
social media is a goldmine for
fraudsters
Do you know what you’re revealing on social media?
Imagine a stranger came up to you in the street and told you that you
woke up late and had to skip breakfast because you needed to go and
book flights for your holiday to Portugal in June. Then you called in to
see your friend in West London and play with her new kitten, before
heading to your local for a few drinks and some tapas with your brother
to celebrate his new job.
A psychic? A stalker? Or just someone who follows you on Twitter?
Your social media profiles can make you a target.
Just a single piece of personal information, such as your date of birth,
can be used to commit fraud in your name. So imagine what a fraudster
can do with a lot of personal information: hack your emails, empty your
bank account, impersonate someone close to you, even steal your entire
identity. Being a victim of fraud can cause you a lot of inconvenience and
distress, and - in some cases - even put you in personal danger.
You don’t have to be rich or famous to be a victim of fraud.
Fraudsters target anyone and everyone. And because young people use
social media more than any other demographic group and are often very
comfortable with sharing personal information online, their chances of
becoming a victim can be high.
Protect yourself.
Look opposite to see how a fraudster sees your social media profile.
We’ve used Facebook and Twitter as our main examples, but it’s
applicable to other social media platforms, such as Instagram and
Whatsapp: in fact, anywhere where you post personal and real-time data
information online. By being aware of how your social media accounts
can make you vulnerable, you can take steps to protect yourself and
reduce your risk of becoming a victim of fraud.
Real-life Twitter account
@NeedADebitCard retweets photos of
Twitter users who, accidentally or without
thinking, post images of their debit and
credit cards as a warning to others.
The caption on this image (which we’ve
blurred out) reads: ‘My new credit card
came in yay! And the security code is just
like my birthday, 527’.
Can you see what a fraudster sees?
Do you really know who is messaging
you? Fraudsters can use your and your
friends’ personal info to gain your trust
or pretend to be someone they’re not.
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2
By trawling your network of
friends and family, fraudsters
can uncover useful
information - such as your
mother’s maiden name, a
common security question.
3
Your status and check-ins can make you vulnerable. Criminals (and not just
fraudsters) can discover when you’re away on holiday - or home alone.
Be careful about accepting friend or follow requests from
people you don’t know very well, or even at all. Fraudsters can
bypass privacy settings as a ‘friend’.
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If you have more than one social media account (like many people do) then
fraudsters can use the information shared on each one to build a picture of your
identity - just like a jigsaw. For example, you might be very careful about not listing
your place of work or home town on Facebook, but then you might post a photo
of your workplace on Instagram and tweet about ‘going home to Wigan to see the
family’ on Twitter.
You might think no-one can be bothered to spend time putting together the pieces.
Think again. The gains can be big - for the fraudster, it’s worth the effort.
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Adverts can be tailored to target specific
groups and anyone can set them up. Be
careful of online scams and fake websites,
and make sure the advertiser or offer is
legitimate. Viral videos can also be fake
- installing malware or viruses on your
computer.
What are your privacy
and security settings?
Who can see what
you share? How often
do you change your
password? Don’t rely
on default settings; set
them yourself.
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Saying where you are from can also be your place of
birth - another common security question. Similarly,
listing things like where you studied, your complete
date of birth and your relationship status can all be
used by the fraudster to build a complete picture of
your identity - that they can then steal.
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What you ‘like’ or follow tells the fraudster a lot. For
example, if you like certain shops, they know that you
are likely to have online shopping accounts - possibly
with stored credit card details. Or they can send you
fake phishing emails pretending to be from your ‘liked’
brands, knowing you are more likely to open them.
Stay safe. Beware what you share.
What is CIFAS?
CIFAS is the UK’s
Fraud Prevention
Service. Find out
more at
www.cifas.org.uk
You can follow us
on Twitter at:
@CIFAS_UK for
up to date news
and advice about
fraud prevention.