Young Brits warned of social media threat as ID fraud soars

As they share ever more personal information online, young Brits are increasingly falling victim to identity fraud, figures from security outfit Cifas show.

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Young Brits warned of social media threat as ID fraud soars

Editorial

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In 2015 just under 24,000 Brits under the age of 30 were victims of identity fraud, a rise of 52% on the previous year and more than double the 11,000 victims in this age bracket in 2010.

The vast majority of identity fraud is carried out online, as crooks obtain victims' personal information such as dates of birth, addresses and bank providers and then use it to buy products or take out loans.

In the age of social media, Cifas says that many young people are unaware of the risks, with only 57% of 18 to 24 year olds saying that they think about how secure their personal details are online and just 34% saying that they learnt about online security when they were at school.

In a bid to bring the issue home, Cifas has put together a video in which it convinces coffee shop customers to like a Facebook page in exchange for a free drink. When the unsuspecting customers return for their shot of caffeine, the baristas scrawl their personal information all over the cups.



Simon Dukes, chief executive, Cifas, says: "The likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other online platforms are much more than just social media sites - they are now a hunting ground for identity thieves. We are urging people to check their privacy settings today and think twice about what they share."

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Comments: (1)

A Finextra member 

we need to accept the disappearence of "privacy". General population and younger demographics might understand the risks but will allways be careless anyways... We must complement education with robustifying the channels by which we prove our identities at the point of transactions, which fundamentally is when it matters and where people impersonate other people.

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