People are always skeptical of new technology and especially unforeseen circumstances that come about. Frank Abagnale, a con-man who is now a security consultant is warning Facebook users that the more information is listed about them on social media, the easier it is for cyber criminals to steal their identity. Abagnale explains how easy it is to steal one’s identity and even easier when provided with a name, date of birth, and birthplace.
“If you tell me your date of birth and where you’re born [on Facebook], I’m 98 percent [of the way] to stealing your identity,” he said at an Advertising Week Europe conference on Wednesday. “Never state your date of birth and where you were born [on personal profiles], otherwise you are saying ‘come and steal my identity.'”
Facebook can also make users more exposed to being tracked. If your mobile device is linked to your profile, hackers can use programs to see your physical location, even if the website or app is not logged on.
Facial recognition software is also being linked with Facebook:
“Another program that is owned by Google has the ability to recognize faces and match them with profiles on social networking sites, such as Facebook. This can all be done “in just seven seconds,” Abagnale said. If someone were to snap an image on an iPhone of a passerby and upload that photo to an app, like PittPatt, that app could then be used to determine who that person is.”
With all this concern about our privacy being leaked and identity easily stolen, will there ever be a way to still use social media without increasing our chances of personal harm?
Or will we all shift to profiles without pictures, using fake names and not being able to see upcoming birthdays of our friends?
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ON RT.COM
Wow, I never thought of this! Recently Chase had put a stop to my account when they seen that I was traveling from school to work and seen a suspicious purchase in SOHO so I became aware that the bank knows my location and spending habits. But, I didnt realize that logging in, checking in, having birthdays, hometowns, possibly parents names (good way to guess a possible password), and maybe clues being drunk or vulnerable are all incredibly easy and cheap tips on identity theft and possible burglary (people share when they are vacation!) This opened my eyes to what Facebook and other social media sites are capable of doing to people unknowingly releasing very private and vital information to the public.
Wow, it’s kind of surprising me that I never thought about my identity being stolen via Facebook. I mean, I make sure to shred my mail but then again I have my birth date, age, and where I live right on the internet. This article is pretty interesting and I doubt many people think about this. At the same time, I doubt this will change the amount of information people share on social media sites. I don’t think people are going to shy away from having profiles with pictures or start using fake names. With increasing technology, I’m sure it will be easier to find victims that fall prey to identity theft, but at the same time, hopefully more people will think about more innovative software to guard against identity theft. This should become apart of our dialogue and thinking in regards to ethics and technology as a contemporary society so dependent on technology.