Social media is great…for scammers
February 4, 2010
Since its inception, social media has been a great way for people to reconnect. But did you know social networks are one way debt collectors are reconnecting with those who own them money?
That’s just one of the many ways social media can get you into financial trouble.
Mark Renn of GCM Career Specialists in Denver has seen plenty of examples of bad judgment on the Internet.
“A young man had his MySpace photo of him doing something what was not only inappropriate, but it was illegal. His employer found it and he was terminated his employment,” says Renn.
“People write about their social life more than they probably should and present themselves as partiers that will get in the way of their careers and their promotions.” Electronic Investigator, Charles Tendell (ESCI) says social media sites are a breeding ground for scammers who want to steal your money and identity.
“To steal your identity takes very, very little information it just has to be accurate information,” Tendell says.
What’s on your Facebook profile? Your dog’s name? Your best friend’s name? Where you grew up?
“Somebody goes to your banking page and they enter ‘I forgot my password here,’ answer the secret questions; ‘What’s your favorite dog?,’ ‘What’s the name of the street you grew up on?’, they have that information,” adds Tendell.
Scammers posting as friends, Charles says, can dig up your personal information. “Once you are their friend, they can see date of birth , they can see address and phone number if you’ve got it up there so now they have all of your information they can take that information and pretend to be you and steal your identity.”
Social media has also become a tool for collection agencies trying to track down debtors. “They are evolving to the technology and see if this person is on Facebook then they can use this fake Facebook profile,” Charles says.
If you are posting pictures of your lavish life, a collector may be paying attention. “They can do an analysis and say wait a minute this guy is supposed to be broke he’s not paying any of his bills but that’s a brand new Lexus he’s leaning on.”
There are ways to track who’s searching for your information online. ZabaSearch, the online people finder database has a free site that can track anyone who searches for your personal information on their site.
Comments
Got something to say?