1 LIMIT IDENTIFYING DETAILS
According to research by Sophos, the data protection experts, 41pc of Facebook users will divulge personal information – such as email address, date of birth and phone number – to a complete stranger, which increases their susceptibility to identity theft.
Details such as phone numbers, pictures of your home, your address, birthday or full name could be used to identify you or locate you offline.
Mr Sinclair said: "Never put sensitive details like your address or banking details on a site. You should also only ever accept to be 'friends' with people you know and trust."
Little bits of information can be used to build up a picture of you that could be misused. A good is only to put on your profile any information you would be happy to have on a park bench – this will help you keep your personal details safe, and private.
2 SET UP A NEW EMAIL ACCOUNT
Set up a separate email account that does not use your real name and use it to register and receive mail from the site. That way, if you want to shut down your connection, you can simply stop using that email account.
To set up an email address, there are free services that are simple and quick to use such as hotmail.com or yahoo.co.uk But try to avoid using an email address that gives away too much information, such as your full name or date of birth.
3 BE CHOOSY ABOUT ACCEPTING FRIENDS
When you join a social network online, it may be tempting to add lots of friends and acquaintances. But approve only friendship requests of people you know and trust, as sometimes fraudsters will set up fake profiles in order to glean information. This is known as social engineering and can be avoided by using the rule – when in doubt, check them out.
4 BE CAUTIOUS OF THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS
Many websites of this type offer a range of third-party applications, from games to widgets. But some of these have been shown to be completely fraudulent.
These have been created to install bad software on your computer and access your personal information. A good thing to watch out for is applications that bait you with learning a piece of information by clicking on a button as this generally will initiate a program or virus to install. For example: "Kate has written some personal information about you. Click here to find how what she said."
Remember that when you click to install an application like that, it not only puts your computer and network at risk, but also potentially sends the same invite out to everyone on your friend list.
5 AVOID USER-GENERATED SPAM
Social networks rely on users to post content such as photos, videos and links and then sharing the content with their contacts. However, there are spam-based programmes that will install bad software if you click on them but may look very innocent, for example leaving a link on your page as a comment.
If it doesn't sound like your friend who left a comment on your social networking page, it very well might not have been, so double check with your friend before you click on
the link
6 SET YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS
Social networks are designed to make it very easy for other people to find you. Make sure that your privacy settings are set correctly.
Facebook offers users control of their privacy setting within the "My privacy" section of the site. This can be reached by clicking on the "Privacy" link in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the website. From within the privacy section, you have control of all of your privacy settings and can fine-tune who will have access to your profile and activity on the Facebook website.
7 DON'T BROADCAST YOUR SCHEDULE
Social networking websites allow users to publish their whereabouts to their network of friends. Whether it is a simple status update or detailed itinerary, fraudsters can use this information to victimise you in a number of ways.
One of the biggest mistakes by users is to announce that they will be out of town for a holiday. Criminals use this information to determine when your home may be most vulnerable.
8 BE WARY OF GEOGRAPHICAL NETWORKS
Facebook is made up of thousands of networks worldwide, and users are encouraged to join them in order to meet and make friends with people in their area.
For example, Facebook allows users to join networks which are groups of individuals that share a common trait such as having attended the same school or living in a certain metropolitan area. That means that if you join the network for the city you live in, every other member of that city-based network will have access to your profile information.
Even if you have set up your privacy settings to ensure that only friends can view your information, joining a network automatically opens your profile to every other member of the network. Make sure you change your privacy settings accordingly.
9 CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT REGULARLY
By frequently monitoring your credit record, you can spot if someone has been using your identity to obtain credit and then rectify your credit history as soon as possible.
According to research by Sophos, the data protection experts, 41pc of Facebook users will divulge personal information – such as email address, date of birth and phone number – to a complete stranger, which increases their susceptibility to identity theft.
Details such as phone numbers, pictures of your home, your address, birthday or full name could be used to identify you or locate you offline.
Mr Sinclair said: "Never put sensitive details like your address or banking details on a site. You should also only ever accept to be 'friends' with people you know and trust."
Little bits of information can be used to build up a picture of you that could be misused. A good is only to put on your profile any information you would be happy to have on a park bench – this will help you keep your personal details safe, and private.
2 SET UP A NEW EMAIL ACCOUNT
Set up a separate email account that does not use your real name and use it to register and receive mail from the site. That way, if you want to shut down your connection, you can simply stop using that email account.
To set up an email address, there are free services that are simple and quick to use such as hotmail.com or yahoo.co.uk But try to avoid using an email address that gives away too much information, such as your full name or date of birth.
3 BE CHOOSY ABOUT ACCEPTING FRIENDS
When you join a social network online, it may be tempting to add lots of friends and acquaintances. But approve only friendship requests of people you know and trust, as sometimes fraudsters will set up fake profiles in order to glean information. This is known as social engineering and can be avoided by using the rule – when in doubt, check them out.
4 BE CAUTIOUS OF THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS
Many websites of this type offer a range of third-party applications, from games to widgets. But some of these have been shown to be completely fraudulent.
These have been created to install bad software on your computer and access your personal information. A good thing to watch out for is applications that bait you with learning a piece of information by clicking on a button as this generally will initiate a program or virus to install. For example: "Kate has written some personal information about you. Click here to find how what she said."
Remember that when you click to install an application like that, it not only puts your computer and network at risk, but also potentially sends the same invite out to everyone on your friend list.
5 AVOID USER-GENERATED SPAM
Social networks rely on users to post content such as photos, videos and links and then sharing the content with their contacts. However, there are spam-based programmes that will install bad software if you click on them but may look very innocent, for example leaving a link on your page as a comment.
If it doesn't sound like your friend who left a comment on your social networking page, it very well might not have been, so double check with your friend before you click on
the link
6 SET YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS
Social networks are designed to make it very easy for other people to find you. Make sure that your privacy settings are set correctly.
Facebook offers users control of their privacy setting within the "My privacy" section of the site. This can be reached by clicking on the "Privacy" link in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the website. From within the privacy section, you have control of all of your privacy settings and can fine-tune who will have access to your profile and activity on the Facebook website.
7 DON'T BROADCAST YOUR SCHEDULE
Social networking websites allow users to publish their whereabouts to their network of friends. Whether it is a simple status update or detailed itinerary, fraudsters can use this information to victimise you in a number of ways.
One of the biggest mistakes by users is to announce that they will be out of town for a holiday. Criminals use this information to determine when your home may be most vulnerable.
8 BE WARY OF GEOGRAPHICAL NETWORKS
Facebook is made up of thousands of networks worldwide, and users are encouraged to join them in order to meet and make friends with people in their area.
For example, Facebook allows users to join networks which are groups of individuals that share a common trait such as having attended the same school or living in a certain metropolitan area. That means that if you join the network for the city you live in, every other member of that city-based network will have access to your profile information.
Even if you have set up your privacy settings to ensure that only friends can view your information, joining a network automatically opens your profile to every other member of the network. Make sure you change your privacy settings accordingly.
9 CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT REGULARLY
By frequently monitoring your credit record, you can spot if someone has been using your identity to obtain credit and then rectify your credit history as soon as possible.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario