Users of social networking websites risk identity theft Users of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are unknowingly exposing themselves to risks of identity theft and PC infection. According to a US study in 2006, although 57 percent of people who use social networking sites expressed concern about becoming victims of cyber-crime, they are still divulging information that may put them at risk.

For example, 74 per cent of the 2,163 adults quizzed in the survey said they had given out personal information, such as their email address, name and birthdate.

The majority (83 per cent) of adults who use social networking sites confessed that they have downloaded unknown files from other people's profiles, potentially exposing themselves to malware as a result.

Nearly a third (31 per cent) of adults who use social networking sites have responded to "phishy" (ie potential fraudulent) unsolicited email or instant messages, the survey found. 

A Sydney conference in Oct 2007 advised users of Facebook - which is regularly visited by 1.5 million Australians - to reconsider the amount of personal information they share on the website.

"If someone is motivated to launch an [identity theft] attack against an individual, it's been made easier by these networking sites and aggregating sites," said Keith B. White, security services director for the global computer firm Alcatel-Lucent.

"You have to be really careful about the information you post, that it's not going to come back and bite you and that you understand the risk."

The danger of identity theft is confirmed by a recent UK research that showed 35 out of 100 people accepted an approach to be friends from a fictitious Facebook user created by investigators.

The recent move by all major social networking sites to let the search engines index the site's user profiles will only make things worse.