Facebook increasingly used for ID theft

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites, helping many people connect with long lost-friends and stay in contact with those separated by thousands of miles, but more recently it has given opportunities to less innocent people - identity thieves. Thanks to the popularity of third-party applications, many social network users may be giving valuable information, including an address and phone number, to those looking to steal identities or commit other acts of fraud. Computer security experts are warning users of the popular site, which now boasts more than 500 million users, that they should be wary of people trying to use the applications for the purposes of stealing information. "The ability to access users' home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users' profiles," writes Graham Cluley for the Naked Security blog. A man from California recently plead guilty to using Facebook to steal information on hundreds of women. In a statement, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said that the case "highlights the fact that anyone with an email account is vulnerable to identity theft."