The risk of personal details being spread across the net from Facebook has been highlighted by two pieces of research.
Ron Bowes, a security consultant, used a piece of code to scan the profiles of more than 100 million Facebook users, collecting data not hidden by privacy settings, and published it on the net.
And whilst Facebook claims the data is already public information, new research from ID fraud expert, Equifax, suggests that the profiles could be revealing a lot more than some individuals intended.
Equifax commissioned a piece of research to look at the level of privacy settings used by Facebook users – and the level of data they share amongst their ‘friends’.
Analysing one Facebook user’s friends, the research revealed that, of 173 friends, 62 per cent provide their full date of birth on their profile; over three quarters provide a personal email address and nearly a third provide the name of their employer.
Whilst they may argue that they are only making this information accessible to their ‘friends’, the fact is that the data is available to all ‘friends’. So that could be someone they have just met – or someone they have known for years.
Equifax believes this show’s a worrying level of trust amongst Facebook users.
Additional research by Equifax has also revealed that 19 per cent of social networking users choose not to use any privacy settings, with a further nine per cent not even aware of what these are! And worryingly, says Equifax, 47 per cent do not regularly review their privacy settings.
Equifax believes people don’t realise how easy it is for fraudsters to use the personal information available on social networking sites to steal their identity and open accounts in their name.
“Our Facebook user research reveals that the data accessible to ‘friends’ could be used to commit identity fraud or theft,” said Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax.
“Whilst I am sure that anyone would hope that their friends wouldn’t commit such a crime against them, the reality is that the average number of ‘friends’ for Facebook users is 130. Can anyone really know 130 ‘friends’ well enough to trust that they won’t abuse the personal information they can see?
“Crucially, it seems most Facebook users share the same personal information with people they have met once, known for two months or 12 years. And when you also consider that, based on our research, 17 per cent of individuals know their partner’s social networking passwords, more people than you know could be viewing your personal information.”
“Facebook provides several ways for friends to communicate, but many people still put personal emails and mobile numbers on their profile. These people are making themselves particularly vulnerable to phishing, if their email address or mobile number gets into the wrong hands.
“It is clear from our survey that there is a level of complacency regarding data security. We urge social networkers to ensure that they have tight controls on who views their personal information by using the privacy settings available.
“Maybe it’s time to look through that ‘friends’ list and think about how well you really know them to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.”
* Results from analysis of the data made available by 173 Facebook friends:
• Nearly 62 per cent provide their full date of birth
• 78 per cent provide a personal email address
• 32.37 per cent provide the name of their employer
• Nearly 10 per cent provide their mobile numbers
• 19 per cent of respondents choose not to use privacy settings on their social networking sites
• 9 per cent aren't aware of the privacy settings or don’t know how to use them
• 9 per cent have privacy settings on some of their social networking sites but not all
• 47 per cent do not regularly review their privacy settings
• 17 per cent know their partners passwords
