Social media sites fertile ground for identity theft

When it comes to social media, it seems adults are cautious about what their children are doing online, but they may be overlooking their own digital footprint.

Social media experts warn that participating in any such site can be dangerous and leave one vulnerable to identify theft.

“The problem with the public is that they see identity theft as something that doesn’t happen too often, so they don’t worry about it,” said Mack Jackson Jr., president of MJ Computer Concepts Inc. and Internet security expert. “Identity theft happens more than you think. Hackers are like peeping toms: You can’t tell they’re looking at your computer system or keystrokes. Before you know it, they can have all of your passwords.”

The percentage of adults using Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram to communicate with one another is 73 percent, with Facebook being the most popular in the U.S., with 71 percent of adults using it, according to a 2013 study by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the U.S. and the world.

Social media users should never share their Social Security number, including the last four digits, birth date, home address or home phone number, Jackson said. However, he also warns people to be cautious of free Wi-Fi hotspots because he said that is the environment where hackers thrive. He suggested that people install virtual private network software to shield them from privacy threats.

Users should also protect their passwords, PIN numbers, bank account and credit card information.

Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Michael Rodriguez also advises people to never share the state where they were born as it can be used to obtain a person’s Social Security number and other such information.

People should view and adjust their privacy settings on social media sites to limit personal information.

“One big thing we always preach about is for people not to post when they’re on vacation or show photos of valuable items at their home,” Rodriguez said. “This can cause potential burglaries to happen.”

Rodriguez said people should generally be careful about any photos they post on the Web.

“Sometimes, people post photos of themselves with items in the background that contain valuable information,” he said.

Professionals should also limit their work history on social media sites.

Javelin Research’s 2012 Identity Fraud Report found that LinkedIn users were twice as likely to report fraud attempts.

The firm found that more than 11.6 million social media users were victims of identity theft in 2011, with LinkedIn, Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook users reporting the most incidents.

“Hackers will sometimes go on LinkedIn and do a search for job titles, such as payroll or HR manager,” Jackson said. “They try to join people’s networks to talk about payroll or HR issues, and then they send the person a link to an article about an HR law. That link ends up being malware, and the hacker uses it to have access to the information of employees or customers.”

Jackson advises people to create smaller social media networks to keep track of their digital footprint.

“We all want to have a number of friends to look cool, but a lot of those profiles are fake,” Jackson said. “These are people who are watching what you do, and they’re learning about your personal life. They don’t care about you.”

If people find negative information about them online, they can use reputation.com or reputationmanagers.com, which can remove negative information about individuals or businesses, he said. Having a negative reputation online can cause people to lose out on job opportunities.

In recent years, employers have started using social media sites to research job candidates. Fifty-one percent of employers who research job candidates on social media said they’ve found content that caused them to not hire the candidate, up from 43 percent last year and 34 percent in 2012, according to the online recruitment site Career Builder.

“Identity theft can be prevented if people just take a few minutes every week to look over their bank statements and medical statements to make sure everything looks OK,” Jackson said. “Before, parents would be cautious about who their kids invited over. This is the same thing, just more technical.”

To listen to Jackson’s radio segment about identity theft or for more information, visit mackjacksonjr.com.

To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.