That's a given, right? Identity thieves necessitated the need for cross-directional paper shredders, such was their ability to bin-dip. Your identity can be stolen from the narrowest slithers of information and I'm amazed that anybody would still put their personal details on MySpace, Facebook or any other SN sites you'd care to add to the list. But they do, in their droves according to BBC News. 11 million Brits use social networking sites, and a quarter of them include personal details on their profiles.
Get Safe Online is, predictably, a website providing expert advice on staying safe online, from ID theft, spyware and hacking, right through to safe online dating. This week is Get Safe Online Awareness Week, and despite my gut feeling that anybody who includes such details on their profiles in a dangerous way must be a little bit slow on the uptake, if the campaign receives enough coverage it might just do enough to prevent a few identity thefts in the future. More to the point, traffic to the GSO site should raise awareness about online technical and personal security in general.
You have to ask questions though. How does this problem still exist? In my own experience, it happens less on MySpace than on Facebook. I expect this is because while everyone knows putting your details on MySpace is plain damned stupid, Facebook's development has belied its more negative capabilities. At its birth, and through its early lifetime, Facebook was for students only - new sign-ups had to provide an academic email address. Members linked their profiles only with those of friends. It felt safe. When I first joined Facebook as a student, the number of telephone numbers on there was outrageous! I don't know what it is about Facebook, but it seems to give the impression that only your friends can see you. And that's simply not the case: at default, anybody can see you if they were so inclined. They simply have to join your network. Besides, Facebook is now a social networking site for everyone.
Clearly I welcome the idea behind this Awareness Week, and urge anyone who stumbles across Trashed And Scattered to take a look at the Get Safe Online site. But I have two obvious tips first: don't put your details ANYWHERE online, and make use of Facebook's privacy settings. They're there for a reason.
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