Australia, Online Social Networks And Identity Theft
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is warning young Australians to be cautious of the information they are providing online, as part of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce’s “Online Offensive: Fighting Fraud Online” Awareness Week.
Online fraud affects everyone, in particular young consumers, where an increased use of social networking websites can potentially expose them to identity theft.
Acting AFP National Manager High Tech Crime Operations Karl Kent said identity theft occurs because people are putting too much information about themselves into social networking sites and out into the public domain.
“Young people in particular are not aware of the risks of accepting friendship requests from people they do not know and have never met. Even accepting ‘friends of friends’ can sometimes be risky. Children are providing personal details on these sites such as their full name, date of birth, their place of residence and even the school they attend. They would not provide this kind of information to a stranger so why put it online?” Commander Kent said.
Scammers can use this information to open credit card accounts giving them access to commit fraud in your child’s name. Scammers may not use this information for years after the information has been placed online and once it is in the public domain it can not be retrieved.
“Think about the type of personal information you share online and how it might be used by others” Commander Kent advises.
“Consider protecting the personal information of your friends and family. Identity theft and fraud is happening now and we all need to protect our personal details. Keep your passwords secret, do not share them with friends and ensure that you use strong passwords with a combination of letters, numbers and keyboard symbols.”
Users of social networking sites should change their privacy settings when they join these sites. Remember to install and update reputable anti-virus and firewall software on your computer to increase the level of protection of your personal information.
‘Fraud week’ runs from 1 to 7 March and aims at raising awareness of online consumer fraud to the public and how they can protect themselves.
To find out more about scams, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or call SCAMwatch on 1300 795 995.
Topics: 2010, AFP, Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce, Australia, Australian Federal Police, consumers, crime, criminals, facebook, firewall, fraud, Fraud Wek, Governance, government, id theft, identity, identity theft, information, internet, monitor, myspace, news, online consumer fraud, Online Offensive: Fighting Fraud Online, personal information, public domain, scam, social networking
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