Public Radio for Alaska's Bristol Bay
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

BBB Warns Social Media Could be the New Hunting Ground for ID Thieves

Better Business Bureau

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, consumers lost $780 million last year due to internet crime.  That’s up 50 percent from 2012.  One group is saying part of this increase can be traced back to social media websites.  

The Better Business Bureau, serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington, released a warning this month to caution social media users against risky behavior.  The BBB says something as innocent as a birthday wish can provide criminals with information they need.

Alaska Regional Manager for BBB Michelle Tabler says her group looks out for trends in ID theft.

“Of course you’ve got LinkedIn which has your occupation, where you worked, what you do that sort of thing. But on Facebook people have their birthdays because everyone loves having all their friends say happy birthday and that sort of thing. You go to the genealogical websites and think of the things that you’re putting on there. You’re putting on your date of birth, your mother’s maiden name, city and state where you were born, your kids’ name. Think about all the security questions for bank accounts and that sort of thing that use your mother’s maiden name, and also city and state where you were born.”

Tabler points to the recent Russian hacking scheme.  A group of young Russians stole more than a billion online credentials.  Tabler says if hackers can break into over a billion accounts, they can definitely access personal social media accounts.

There are certain precautions, Tabler says, that one can take to protect against identity thieves; not posting overly personal information, check privacy settings, don’t click on links you don’t trust and strengthen passwords. 

“What we advise is have a long phrase. It doesn’t have to be a word, it can be a long phrase and put a couple capitals in there, put a number and put a symbol like a question mark. And a phrase could be a name of a movie or just a phrase that you would remember, especially adding capitals and numbers and symbols. So that’s one thing. You want to change passwords once every six months.”

A problem Tabler sees is in fake accounts.  She warns if an account asks to be your friend or join you on a site, but you are already friends with that person, it could be a fake.  Identity thieves set up these fake accounts in the hopes that people won’t really pay attention to who they follow on the site. 

Although BBB doesn’t go after internet criminals themselves, they do keep record of them.  Tabler says the more cases that are reported, the easier it will become to catch the thieves.

“These things should be reported to the police, they should be reported to your credit bureau. And if it’s a fraudulent type situation, of course there’s consumer protection at the attorney general’s office here in Alaska. You’ve got the local police force where you’re at, so you definitely want to report these things.”

Tabler warns a major scheme is called the Grandparents Scam.  Elderly people will get phone calls, usually early or late in the day when they are less cognoscente, pretending to be a grandchild in trouble-- sometimes in a car accident, sometimes in jail.  Money is then wired to an outside source that the grandparent believes will be used to help their grandchild. 

Stop Think Connect is an online awareness campaign hoping to help all people on the internet stay safe and secure online.  It says that 28 percent of Americans lack the information or knowledge to stay safe online.  Tabler recommends adjusting your security settings on all of your networks, and if you can’t figure it out on your own, ask a teenager.