Social Networking Fraud

When you hear the phrase ‘social networking’; what pops into your mind? Maybe MySpace, Match.com, Twitter, EHarmony, Facebook? Okay what if I mentioned social networking fraud? Fraud is defined by consumerfraudreporting.org as “a deception practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain”. Where does social networking fit into this? The more gateways that we create for open communication the greater risk we have for becoming victimized by con artists. The key is to recognize the ways you are being scammed through social networking sites and to take preventative measures to protect yourself.

About a century ago social networking began with the telegram and Morse code. In today’s age we have become more complex, with the internet in place we have taken social networking to a whole new level. Most of us are familiar with sites such as MySpace, Linked-In, Twitter, and Facebook; they have become a second nature, a way of keeping in contact, meeting new people, and keeping our friends, and family informed of the latest events in our lives. They allow for us to post pictures, locations, and join groups from virtually anywhere. We become so fascinated and integrated with the new programs that we forget to protect ourselves from the underlying dangers that are presented. According to scambusters.org there are five common types of social networking fraud that puts you, the user, at great risk of becoming victimized.

The first one is probably the hardest one for the untrained eye to recognize as it is the unintentional downloading and installation of malware. Malware can be presented in the form of an application such as; a calendar, photos, games, or even posts with quotations. Many of us look at some of these applications for their usefulness and do not think twice about why they are free or what the total cost of running an application like this could be.

The cost can be downloading spyware, Trojans, and viruses to your computer. Spyware is an add-on that extracts identifiable data from your computer and releases it onto the internet without any warning. There may be warning signs disclosed in a privacy statement for the program you are about to run or install, but most people either do not take the time to read the whole statement or feel that they are exempt from such malware. Trojans are accepted and installed the same way as Spyware can be, but with less warning and more violation. Trojans can see the pages you visit, passwords you type, documents you send, and they have full access to your files. It would be like having an imaginary friend watching over your shoulder every time you log on to your computer with unimaginable motives. Viruses have many different variations of what they can do to your operating system, but they hold danger just as Spyware and Trojans where they can end up accessing personal information on your computer.

The reason why malware is more susceptible on social networking sites is because everyone who is added onto your profile is supposedly someone you know, or feel that you can trust. Whenever there is underlying trust within a site it makes it easier for people such as hackers, or other perpetrators to gain access to your files or more importantly your personal information. Even social networking sites have a hard time maintaining and detecting the amount of malware that is passed within a site. It is because of the amount of users, and because of the amount of applications that are available that it becomes more of a nuisance to try to detect.

A simple solution to remaining protected from spyware, Trojans, and viruses is to not load unneeded applications that carry unwarranted risks. It is also important to not open links inside of emails as they may lead to the download of a security breach within your computer. Even if the email comes from one of your friend’s email accounts, if all that is listed is the URL to a website your friend’s computer might have a zombie that is spamming you and you should warn them as soon as possible. Another thing to remember is to never enter credit card information on a public or shared computer as you do not know if the computer is infected or if your information is being logged.

The second type of social networking fraud that is common is false identity which can tie to the third type of social networking fraud, identity theft. Neglecting to set up a social networking account does not necessarily mean you are protected from being exploited. The truth of the matter is that on sites such as Facebook.com there is a way for people to name your face in a photo; also known as tagging the photo. Once your name is out there it just takes an ordinary person who is bored a matter of minutes to set up an account with that name, and start adding to their friends list. If that doesn’t scare you, then what should is the friends, and family members that are adding this fictitious character thinking that it is you, someone has assumed your false identity.

They may ask a friend or family member to meet up with them for a coffee, or to loan them money via PayPal, etc. This example may seem like a stretch, but the reason why it is an example of is because someone has pulled it off before. Pictures from these Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking site profiles can be pulled, downloaded, or saved onto a complete stranger’s home computer which allows the perpetrator to further masquerade their identity. They utilize the pictures they have saved as profile pictures or store them in an online album labeled ‘family’ in an attempt to assume your identity. If you were a parent, how would you feel to see pictures of your son or daughter on a pedophile’s computer, along with saved conversations through email or messenger? Then when you ask your son or daughter about how they became friends with this person, you found that they posed as a family friend or distant relative. A simple solution and preventative measure for this type of fraud is to talk to your kids about the dangers, or limit their access to these types of social networking sites until you feel they are responsible enough to not add anyone who they do not personally know, or until you feel like they could recognize if someone was posing as a friend or family member that really is not. You must also take the same adhered warning when using these sites, as adults are not excluded from the schemes.

The fourth type of social networking fraud is profile page hacks. The easier it is for you to create an account, the easier it becomes for a hacker to access your account. A hacker is someone who breaks a webpage and subsequently vandalizes, installs invisible code running in the background for malicious purposes, or utilizes your identification for spamming purposes. They may choose to do one or more of these attacks during a hack depending on how complex their skills are or what their motives might be. The majority of page hackers do what they do for fun, or just to prove that they can. The data they can steal can be harmful to others as we have seen a few examples in the recent past of hackers exploiting governmental sites where information stored was considered confidential. The number one method to prevent being hacked rests in the password. The stronger the password, the less chance there is of someone guessing it or using a program to crack it. Also, it is a good idea to frequently change your password so that if someone figures it out they do not have constant access to your webpage, email, profile, or whatever else it is that they are trying to access.

The last social networking fraud is sending and receiving spam. This correlates with our first type, which is the unintentional installation of malware onto your computer. By opening an email from someone that you are unfamiliar with you are putting yourself at risk of being victimized, and if you do know the sender but the email contains a fishy link- do not open it. People who befriend others on these social networking sites do not know who is sitting on the other end of the computer screen. A spammer might send you an application that can be downloaded, and used against you by utilizing the information of pages you frequently visit. They then will make you a target of their sales as they constantly promote themselves or other businesses through email. There are also those spammers that claim they are stuck on a business trip, or lost someone they love and need you to help access accounts. It is important to remember that these emails are spam. Remember the saying ‘If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is’? Keep that in mind when you are reading through your emails daily.

Do not let all of the predators scare you from being active on social networking sites because whether you sign up for one or not we are all at risk of being victimized. To recap, all it takes is your name out there somewhere on the web for someone to be able to create an account and assume false identity. Therefore you must utilize these sites pro-actively. Only add friends or networks of people or companies that you are familiar with, and do not open attachments where you are unaware of its contents from anyone. Also be sure not to install programs onto your computer that are free unless you know what the true cost of running it could be. The ways that the world works today revolves around technology and its new innovations. Some social networking is almost essential and you simply cannot let all the bad people in the world sabotage a good thing. We must learn how people are becoming victimized so that we can circumvent the chances of being one of them. The social networking fraud discussed in this article are only five the most popular ways, and these ways vary among perpetrator to victim. The moment we become aware of fraud, and how people are becoming scammed we make it that much harder for the predator to attack; they get stronger with every success and awareness is the first step to weakening their scheme. The second step is to not fall for their schemes, and the last step is to make others aware of the risks that are involved in social networking sites.

Works Cited
Benivia. (2011, May 6). Consumer Fraud Reporting Glossary. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from Consumer Fraud Reporting: http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/
Landford, J. a. (2011). 5 Most Common Social Networking Scams. Retrieved November 8, 2011, from Scam Busters: www.scambustesters.org/socialnetworking.html
Slater, W. F. (2002). Internet History and Growth. Chicago: Chicago Chapter of the Internet Society.