• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 6, 2016

Social media is a fertile source of information for online fraudsters, fueling a big rise in identity theft, according to a new report from Cifas, a British fraud prevention service. Although the report concerns fraud in the UK, it echoes similar findings in the U.S., confirming that social media-enabled fraud is a growing global threat.

The total number of victims of identity theft reported in the UK jumped 57% from 94,500 in 2014 to 148,000 in 2015, Cifas reported, while the number of incidents rose 49% from 113,839 to 169,592 – the latter figure representing 53% of all fraud cases.

Furthermore 86% of all cases of identity fraud were classified as “Internet-enabled,” with social media a leading source of personal information used to impersonate individuals for fraudulent activity (the Internet was involved in 62% of all fraud cases, which also include application fraud, false insurance claims, and misuse of facility fraud).

Bank accounts were the most targeted area for identity fraud, with a 60% increase in the number of attempts year-over-year and a 171% increase in successful incidents, from 23,686 to 64,174. By age, the most targeted group was Brits ages 31-40, with the number of identity fraud victims in this cohort up 64.1% to 36,502.

Fraudsters are using social media to gather personal details including the victim’s name, date of birth, address, and the name of their bank. Cifas boss Simon Dukes stated: “The likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other online platforms are much more than just social media sites - they are now a hunting ground for identity thieves. We are urging people to check their privacy settings today and think twice about what they share.”

Dukes added: “Social media is fantastic and the way we live our lives online gives us huge opportunities. Taking a few simple steps will help us to enjoy the benefits while reducing the risks. To a fraudster, the information we put online is a goldmine.”