Tumblr 101: Tips And Tricks To Get Started
Sebastian Thrun: Google's Driverless Car
Scammers Stealing Online Facebook Profiles for Evil Deeds?
These days, more and more people are willing to throw up all the sordid details of their lives online, which makes us doubt if privacy even exists anymore. That said, most folks share their details with good intentions; reconnecting with lost friends or telling people what they're up to in the hopes that someone else will join in. Sadly, some scammers are taking advantage of all this candor by stealing details of our online personas to create their own fake identities, infiltrating your social networks. To test how easy this is to do, Ian Armit, a director at Aladdin's Attack Intelligence Research Center, created a number of fake profiles based on composite information gleaned from other online profiles. He was quickly able to make connections on various social networks with real people with real profiles. Once inside those networks, Armit found it was easier to make more friends and gain more virtual influence, even though he was using fake identities.
Why would someone want to do such a thing? There are a number of reasons, like the Koobface virus that spread through Facebook late last year via hijacked and faked profiles. There's also the sad case of Megan Meier, who killed herself after a classmate's mother created a fake MySpace profile pretending to be a potential love interest.
These are still very isolated incidents, and we're not hearing anything about a rash of fake, malicious profiles out there -- yet. If you needed another reason to keep your online profiles private, however, this could be it! [From: ReadWriteWeb]
Related Links:
16 Grammys Looks That Weren't Working
Whitney Houston Autopsy: Cause of Death Determined?
Worst Movie Mistakes: Date Night Edition (PHOTOS)
Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina: Late Singer's Daughter Hospitalized
Adele Five-Year Break? Singer Plans to Focus on Relationship, Write 'Happy Record'
PHOTOS: President Obama's Kissing Technique
Jennifer Hudson Whitney Tribute: Grammy President Reveals Why Singer Was Chosen for Musical Memorial
Grammy 2012 Winners' List: Adele Sweeps Music's Biggest Night
How Hattie Lost 300 Pounds: 'I Was Ready To Do Whatever It Took To Survive'
3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die
5-Hour Energy: A Success Equal Parts Caffeine, Chemistry and Meditation
Matt Bomer Comes Out As Gay
People With Easy-To-Pronounce Names More Likely To Succeed, Study Says
Whitney Houston Dead: Stars React to Legend's Sudden Death
Grammy Awards 2012: The Best & Worst Of The Red Carpet!
Katy Perry Grammy Performance 2012: Did the Diva Diss Her Ex-Hubby With Revealing New Song?
Photos Of Dead Lacrosse Player's Injured Body Shown To Jury
12 Grammys Stars Who Gave Good Style
The Top 10 Slacker Colleges
15 Funny Valentine's Day Cards
Mystery Disease Kills Thousands
WATCH: 25 Million Tons Of Japan Tsunami Debris Headed Directly Our Way
Oprah Under Fire For Controversial Tweet
PHOTOS: Thank God For Grown-Up Glamour
JUNGLE SURVIVAL: Marines Drink Snake Blood, Eat Insects
Remembering The People's Ballerina
New Clues, Details Emerge In Powell Case
PHOTOS: Model Falls At Dennis Basso Show
PHOTOS: Kate Spends Valentine's Day Solo!
Taylor Swift Does Great Depression Chic
PHOTOS: Beautiful Scars
15 Funny Valentine's Day Quotes
Comments
1
Subscribe to commentsOink WoofApr 9th 2009 11:00AM
The real threat from facebook is not from fake profiles but from applications, which trick your real (trusted) friends into giving out your data to an unknown website.