Social Security: Guarding Your Identity in Online Networks

Without a doubt, the growth of social networking has exploded in recent years and has added value to the Internet by providing yet another exciting way for citizens all over the world to connect and interact. In fact, social networks like Facebook , MySpace , Twitter , LinkedIn and many smaller sites have become the preferred way many people communicate today as well as a growing business development tool.
Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn all encourage users to provide personal information such as name, address, sex, birth date, schools attended, birthplace and interests. This information can be shared with "friends" or with the public at large.
These details can provide the crucial information identity thieves need to misrepresent themselves as you. The more information that is included, the easier it is for a fraudster to fill in the blanks. Think of it like algebra. The more factors one has, the easier it is to solve for the missing variables.
The use of social networks has also provided a new -- and sometimes surprisingly easy -- way for identity thieves and other cybercriminals to obtain critical personal, biographical and even proprietary information that can assist cybercriminals in conducting a wide range of crimes -- including identity theft.
My next post will be on tips on how to safegaurd youself in these social networking sites