"People do not realize how they are exposing their identities and potentially sensitive financial information to fraudsters on social networking sites such as Facebook," said Thomas Oscherwitz, chief privacy officer for ID Analytics, Inc. "Americans are also unknowingly sharing with fraudsters answers to common security questions posed by financial institutions to verify an identity including a pet's name, their favorite book and music, or the color of their car. Consumers should realize that social networking sites provide fraudsters with a plethora of information that is ripe for the taking and take steps to protect themselves."
Other highlights of the 2010 Social Network Fraud Survey include:
•Pets, a fraudster's best friend? - Nearly 20 million Americans reveal their pets' names on their social networks, another common security question asked to verify identities.
•Young continue to be more bold and revealing - Directionally*, 18 – 34 year-olds are most likely to reveal various personal information on social networking sites.
•The gender gap - Overall men and women on social networking sites tend to share similar information about themselves. However, men are much more likely to share their current address than women. Men are also almost twice as likely to share photos of their car, while women are almost twice as likely to share pet names.
Consumers can check their risk of identity fraud at MyIDScore.com. This free online service gives consumers immediate insight into whether their personal identifiable information is being used fraudulently to obtain assets, goods or services.
This survey was conducted by telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of ID Analytics between October 15 and 18, 2010 among 1,013 U.S. adults, of whom 392 have joined social networking sites. Results were weighted for age, sex, geographic region, and race where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.
