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Imagine if someone used your name and image, or the name and logo of a business you own, to create a profile on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking website. Then they start posting blogs and sending out links while pretending to be you. They may contact your acquaintances, colleagues, or clients, or they may simply show up when others search for your name. Either way, their intentions are fraudulent. Establishing an online presence using someone else’s identity creates unlimited opportunities for a scammer.
Traditional phishing, in which scammers send a fake email that appears to come from a trusted entity, is no longer as successful as it used to be. So identity thieves are taking advantage of social networking sites to build a home base. Once established, they seem as legitimate as any other user. There are few, if any, checks and balances to prevent this.
Social media identity theft occurs for a number of reasons:
Social media is just a baby. All of the above stems from real world examples over the past few years. Unfortunately, this list is going to keep growing. Varieties of fraud that can occur via social media are only up to the imagination of the thief. Submit your own findings. Let’s hear what other whacked out social media identity thieves are doing.
To prevent social media identity theft, register all your officers, company names and branded products on every social media site you can find to prevent Twitter squatting and cybersquatting. You can do this manually or by using a very cost effective service called Knowem.com.
Invest in identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.
This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author.
Svetlio Todorov Managing Director at emerchantpay
09 April
Steve Morgan Banking Industry Market Lead at Pegasystems
Igor Kostyuchenok SVP of Engineering at Mbanq
Konstantin Rabin Head of Marketing at Kontomatik
07 April
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