By Simon Moores
Published: Tuesday 08 April 2008
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Name
Jack Powers
Location
New York
Occupation
Educator
Comment
Lying is the best defence. Any college kid on Beebo or Facebook will tell you that social media profiles are mainly fictional, designed to enhance mating prospects and impress the in-crowd. Sensitive data like bank account specs and ID numbers are not good reading. Sexy photos in posh surroundings, overblown CVs and opinionated blog posts are more to the point.
Besides, most identity theft is merely credit card fraud, often committed by relatives and friends. There's more exposure in unshredded rubbish, poorly protected passwords and social engineering tricksters than there is online.
Security professionals profit from privacy panic, but most social media users are well aware that they're acting in a public space.
Agenda Setters 2009
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