Over the past few years  social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have given unprecedented access to people’s private lives. More and more personal information is revealed through photos, status updates and conversations that are all being documented online. Last week, the Serious Fraud Office of London (SFO) warned that Facebook and Twitter are being used to harvest users’ personal financial details,

“The public should be aware of the predatory nature of fraudsters and be careful about revealing personal information on social-networking sites, as this has become a primary method of harvesting information and targeting victims,” SFO said.

In a joint venture between London police and Financial Services Authority, over 10,000 people were notified that their names were on a “master list” that contained a range of personal information, that might include: names, address, phone number, place of business, income and relationship status. While this is the only reported list, it’s quite possible thousands more were already victims of this latest cash scam.

Facebook users may not mention all that personal information on their Facebook page, however, they may have it listed on a combination of networking sites. For example, a Facebook user will list their name and location along with photos on Facebook. The scammer can take that information and then look you up on LinkedIn and Twitter to find out your personal website, job, position, average income, number of years employed, education level and parlay all that information into a “cash scam.”

Fraudsters are using this information to set up “boiler rooms” and contact people on this master list. Boilers rooms look to employ high pressure sales tactics to push unwanted, over priced, or sometimes non-existent stock to unsuspecting buyers. Boiler rooms are nothing new, but using Facebook to gather leads and target people is becoming a serious problem.

The FSA is clearly trying to stay ahead of the scam, “By writing to people now, we can raise awareness of this type of fraud and help protect people from losing money to these criminals,” FSA said. While multiple efforts are being taken to stop these criminals, these cash scam continue to grow and more boiler rooms continue to operate off shore. It’s up to the individual to be aware of such fraud and report any phone calls that you suspect could be criminal.

In the mean time, keep your friends close, your Facebook account closed to outsiders, and don’t allow just anyone to view your personal details on your Facebook page.

Source: fourpastfour.com