Facebook users at high risk of online ID theft

FACEBOOK users are putting themselves at serious risk of identity theft, they were warned yesterday.

Posting just a handful of personal details on the website can give fraudsters all the information they need.

Armed with information found on your Facebook page, they can open bank accounts and credit cards in your name.

BBC1 consumer show Watchdog conducted an experiment by setting up a fictional identity on Facebook.

The Watchdog team created a user called Amba Friend, accompanied by a cartoon picture of an attractive girl in her 20s.

Amba then contacted 100 people at random, inviting them to be her friend.

Despite knowing nothing about the person, 35 of those contacted replied immediately — giving the team access to any personal details on the site.

One of them was Scott Gould, 23, from Devon.

His Facebook entry contained his date of birth and home town. The team used these clues to find more information about Scott on other publicly available internet sites.

They were then able to open an online bank account in his name and apply for a credit card. The scam was shown in last night’s episode of the show.

When contacted by Watchdog, a shocked Gould said: “I didn’t think it would be possible but I’ve seen with my own eyes what you’ve done with that little bit of information.”

Internet security expert Tom Ilube helped with the experiment.

He said: “It used to take two to three weeks to get enough information to steal an identity. Now it takes two to three hours.

“The reality is that for three out of 10 people, it would be easy to steal their identity.”

It is possible to protect your privacy by adjusting your settings, but many users fail to do this.