18 Jun 2010

Data security 'key when social networking'

Business and private users of social networking sites have been advised that keeping sensitive information safe at all times should be their priority when interacting online.

IT security expert Robert Schifreen said that information people often make freely available on the internet is the very same data that fraudsters can use to steal their identity, therefore people should be wary of divulging too much.

Furthermore, criminals are getting more cunning and are making scam emails look more realistic all the time.

He commented: "It is very easy to copy a website and make it look like the original; therefore all you've then got to do is send out millions of emails - which is free of charge."

According to research by CPP, people in the UK receive a combined 420,000 scam emails every hour - the equivalent of one every seven seconds.

Furthermore, Brits were targeted by an estimated 3.7 billion phishing emails in the last 12 months alone and a quarter of people admit to having fallen victim to e-fraudsters in the past.