Last year, IT security firm Sophos ran an experiment on Facebook to demonstrate just how willing people were to hand over their information to potential ID thieves. They created a fake profile page on Facebook for a small green plastic frog and sent out 200 friend requests to other Facebook users. Eighty-two of those people responded, and in doing so, divulged personal information like their email address, birthdate, workplace or school location, and phone number – all useful details for the aspiring identity thief.
Every year, thousands of people are victims of identity theft and young people are increasingly becoming prime targets – not surprising when you consider how much of our day-to-day activities are conducted online. As part of Fraud Prevention Month, we’ve put together a little cheat-sheet with advice on how to prevent identity theft online. We hope you download it – and stay away from little green frogs you don’t otherwise know.