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By Francisco Esteves ⋅ November 26, 2007 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Banks threatening crackdown on ID theft victims

Banks have warned they may stop reimbursing identity theft victims who post personal information on social networking websites such as Myspace and Facebook.

With cases of electronic theft of personal details on the increase, students are at the forefront of a new campaign named Get Safe Online (GSO) launched by the Government, making them aware of just how easy it is to get confidential details from public websites. While, up to now, banks have been understanding and reimbursed customers, they are becoming increasingly reluctant to do so for those deemed to be ‘negligent’ with their personal details.

Whist all social network sites have privacy settings, only about 30% of users actually use them, Equifax, a credit-ratings agency said. Some 87% post their full name, 38% their date of birth and 65% post their email address, making them prone to phishing attacks, where bogus emails are sent to try and retrieve personal details.

Tony Neate, Managing Director of GSO, said “Your date of birth and where you live is enough for someone to start setting up a credit card in your name”. More worryingly, most information posted on social network sites is required for resetting bank account passwords, making it invaluable for any fraudster attempting to steal your identity.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Simple measures such as not revealing your full date of birth, mother’s maiden name, full address and email address should help, but be conscious of the information you give out in posts, forums and even to friends.