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Social media has definitely changed the world. It has changed how people reunite with their family, how long lost friends find each other, how people organize events and causes and how different people get together through common interests, friends and schools. Today, it may already be difficult to imagine how the world was without these social networking sites. This is rather unsurprising. Considering the fast-paced rise of the Internet and web technologies, a lot of services will surface with the intention of making people’s lives easier. In terms of what social media did, it was able to make the world a smaller place. However, considering the number of people who are actively using social media on a daily-basis, a lot of scammers have devised ways on how to make id theft on social networking sites possible. Considering how often people log onto these websites, this definitely gives offenders a promising opportunity. Considering the availability of social media in other devices aside from computers, offenders have also thought of ways to perform identity theft with electronic gadgets. Given this, a lot of people may already be at risk, especially knowing the fact that not everyone has the appropriate level of understanding about these things. Thus, how can one identify fraudulent profiles in social networking sites? And how can one prevent identity theft? Identity Theft in Social Networking Sites A person's social media account represents them in a lot of ways. Depending on the nature of the social networking site, a person's profiles may represent them in terms of their hobbies, passion, educational affiliation or it could even be a total representation of themselves online. Social networking sites provide a platform where people can present themselves to the world and connect with friends, family and people they want to meet. Social networking sites have also become a goldmine for identity thieves. Before one could create a profile in any social networking site, the website would require several personal details, such as your name, address, birth date, mother’s maiden name, school, and passwords. The disclosure or publishing of such information can be detrimental to the user considering how creative hackers get nowadays. An example of which is a case cited by the Entrepreneurs’ Organization where a false profile was used to defame a Canadian’s reporter’s character. Once hackers get into your personal information, a lot of things can happen. These fraudsters could get into your social security or credit card information and do their dirty work from there. Protect Yourself from Identity Theft The simple mistake of accepting a friend request from a fraud can cause a lot of serious problems. One of these is credit scams. These offenders could hack into your credit information and cause trouble from there. Awareness of these schemes can help you protect from credit scam. First, do not trust duplicate profiles of your friends easily. It may help to ask for personal questions before you can determine that, that profile is really your friend's. Fraudulent apps on site may also ask for some personal information. It would help to not be easily convinced by their flashy appearances. In addition, avoid disclosing personal information to people you just met online. Though they may sound nice and friendly, you should never trust someone whom you never got to meet and know personally. To some degree, you would get a feel for when it seems too stubborn to dodge, like annoying pop-up applications. Social media can be a lot of fun, but it would be more fun knowing you are not setting yourself up for identity theft by being properly aware and vigilant about fraudulent tactics. Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. Follow her and discover more on how to prevent credit card fraud and tips on identity theft monitoring to prevent yourself from identity fraud.
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