Silicon.com has this article that quotes Equifax warning about how social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo, etc. can cause identity theft

Neil Munroe, external affairs director for Equifax, said in a statement: “The problem is that people don’t realise the significance of the kind of information they are putting out on the web and who may be accessing it.” He cited details such as date of birth, email, job and marital status as the kind of data frequently posted online by unwary users.

Equifax also offer the following suggestions while setting up your profile in social networks.

• set up privacy on your profile so only close friends can view it
• don’t use common verification such as your date of birth or your mother’s maiden name
• be wary of the intentions of anyone you meet on these sites

With the increasing popularity of social networks, identity thieves are going to attack the social networks in a big way. Here is my warning in addition to the above warning from Equifax

If you ever get an email from any of the social networks you use asking you to update your information, DO NOT click on the link in the email. Rather, go to the URL of your social network, login with your credentials and then check if any information needs updating. The tricksters could send you an email link which might ask you to update information on facebook. Along with regular information which is stored in the facebook, these tricksters could add unsuspicious form fields to get confidential information from you. There is a good chance that you are filling up those information without thinking too much. Finally, you might end up giving confidential information that could be misused for identity theft. Please keep the same level of awareness with your social networking sites as you will do with your banking sites.

Sorry for sending chill down your spine with such warnings. If you are a social networking junkie, it is very important that you are aware of this.

Tags: SocialNetworks, Social Networking, Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Security, Identity