Thursday, March 21, 2013

Facebook users risk identity theft, says famous ex-conman...

Frank Abagnale, the man dubbed the world's greatest conman, has issued a stark warning about the dangers of identity theft and children using Facebook.

Abagnale, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in Steven Spielberg's film Catch Me If You Can, said that children in particular need to be made aware of the serious risks of unwittingly revealing information on social networking sites.

He has nearly 40 years experience as a security expert for US law enforcement agencies, having switched sides when he was eventually caught by the FBI after spending half his teenage years on the run as a confidence trickster, imposter, cheque forger and escape artist in the 1960s.

"I'm not on it [Facebook, but] I have no problem with it," he said, addressing the Advertising Week Europe conference in London on Wednesday. "I have three sons on it. I totally understand why people like it. But like every technology you have to teach children, it is an obligation of society to teach them how to use it carefully."

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Abagnale said that while it was common to see companies such as Facebook being criticised for privacy issues in the media, it is up to people to take action to keep their data private.


"Your privacy is the only thing you have left," he said. "Don't blame all the other companies – Google, Facebook – you control it. You have to keep control of your own information." Full story...

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