Friend… or Fraudster?
CIFAS campaign highlights the importance of privacy settings on social media as Equifax commissioned research* reveals that more than 1 in 10 don’t believe or don’t know whether sharing personal information on social media increases the risk of identity fraud
Equifax, the credit information provider, is releasing new research to coincide with the launch of the CIFAS ‘Data to Go’ campaign. Focused on raising awareness of the ID fraud risks of social media, the campaign being led by the credit industry fraud prevention organisation, shows just how easy it is to find lots of personal information about individuals from their social media accounts – simply because individuals haven’t properly considered their privacy settings.
“The look of shock on the faces of some of the individuals featured in the CIFAS video illustrates just how unaware people are of the wealth of information they putting out for clever fraudsters to find”, said Lisa Hardstaff, identity fraud expert at Equifax. “And our latest research underlines that there is still a lack of consumer awareness that they need to cautious about what information they put on social media and the privacy settings they use to limit access to that information. Worryingly it seems the youngest generations are the most naïve.”
The YouGov survey of 2,000 adults found that only just over half (51%) strongly agreed that sharing personal information such as full name, phone number, home address, etc. on social media websites would increase their risk of identity fraud. Just over a third (37%) tended to agree with the statement. But 5% tended to disagree or strongly disagree and 7% said they didn't know. And the numbers increased amongst the younger generations with 18% of 18-24 year olds disagreeing, strongly disagreeing or not knowing whether sharing personal information on social media websites would increase their risk of identity fraud.
Over half (57%) of GB adults surveyed also admitted to being very worried or fairly worried about being a victim of facility/account takeover which is the act of obtaining enough personal details such as account number, password, username, etc. to bypass security on existing accounts.
“Often victims of ID fraud don’t know anything is wrong until they get an unexpected bill or see money missing from their account” continued Lisa Hardstaff. “By that time, the fraudsters are long gone. However a monitoring service, like Equifax Identity Watch Pro, will alert an individual to activity on their credit report allowing them to take immediate steps if they identify anything suspicious, to protect themselves from identity theft.
“We always encourage consumers to think about the security of their personal data, treating it as carefully, as they would cash. Fraudsters only need a few, key pieces of information to steal someone’s identity and open fraudulent accounts in their name. Consumers should therefore take great care with where and how they share their personal information. Hopefully the new CIFAS campaign will bring this message sharply into focus for today’s social media generation.”
EQUIFAX’S TOP TIPS TO AVOID ID THEFT
- Shred those receipts: Don’t carry lots of receipts in wallets, purses and bags, as this can offer fraudsters some of the information they need
- Watch your wallet: Handbag and wallet thieves want your credit cards and personal documents, not your cash, so keep your belongings close.
- Leave home without your cards: Only carry the cards you need to limit the damage if you are a victim of theft.
- Don’t carry personal documents: Passports, statements and other personal documents are top of a fraudster’s Christmas wish list. Leave them at home.
- Be smart with your smartphone: Protect your phone with a password to secure all the personal information it contains.
- Don’t give away your information: Remove information from the hard drive of any old devices, before selling or disposing of them.
- Use virus protection: Keep hackers at bay by protecting your devices with a firewall and virus protection.
- Monitor your credit report: Regularly review your credit file to look out for any unauthorised activity.
Equifax Identity Watch Pro includes WebDetect, which alerts individuals if their financial details are shared on websites used by fraudsters. Subscribers also get alerts within 24 hours of significant changes to their credit report. It allows them to take swift action to reduce the potential damage of fraud. The service costs £9.95 per month.
*YouGov survey, May 2016 of 2060 GB adults
ENDS
For further press information, please contact: Clare Watson, Cecile Stearn, Parm Heer or
Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: equifaxbtocteam@harrisonsadler.com
About Equifax
Equifax, Inc. (“Equifax”) powers the financial future of individuals and
organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology
and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading
provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company
organizes, assimilates and analyses data on more than 800 million consumers and more than 88
million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than
5,000 employers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.,Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North
America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member
of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs
approximately 9,200 employees worldwide.
Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com
Equifax Limited is one of the Equifax group companies based in the UK.
Equifax Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.