Fraud on Social Networks 1

Criminals may use social networks to connect with potential victims. This section discusses some of the typical scams and devices used to defraud consumers on social networks.  Fraud may involve more than one of the techniques described below.  Some types of fraud may not be described here.

Identity Theft

Identity thieves use an individual’s personal information to pretend to be them – often for financial gain. The information users post about themselves on social networks may make it possible for an identity thief to gather enough information to steal an identity.  In 2009, researchers at Carnegie University Mellon published a study showing that it is possible to predict most and sometimes all of an individual’s 9-digit Social Security number using information gleaned from social networks and online databases.  (See Predicting Social Security Numbers from Public Data by Acquisti and Gross)

Information often targeted by identity thieves includes:

·         Passwords

·         Bank account information

·         Credit card numbers

·         Information stored on a user’s computer such as contacts

·         Access to the user’s computer without his or her consent (for example, through malware)

·         Social Security numbers.  Remember that the key to identity theft is the Social Security number.  Never provide a Social Security number through a social networking service.

Some fraud techniques to watch out for include:

·         Illegitimate third-party applications. These rogue applications may appear similar to other third-party applications but are designed specifically to gather information. This information may be sold to marketers but could also be useful in committing identity theft.   These applications may appear as games, quizzes or questionnaires in the format of “What Kind of Famous Person Are You?” (See ABC's Online Games Can Lead to Identity Theft)

False connection requests. Scammers may create fake accounts on social networks and then solicit others to connect with them.  These fake accounts may use the names of real people, including acquaintances, or may be entirely imaginary.  Once the connection request is accepted, a scammer may be able to see restricted and private information on a user’s profile.  (See ReadWriteWeb's Fake Social Networking Profiles: a New Form of Identity Theft in 2009)