Survey: Millions risk ID theft via social networks

[Peaches]

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<h3>Survey: Millions risk ID theft via social networks

Nearly 13 million American adults who use social networks are more than willing to accept friend requests from strangers of the opposite gender, a new survey from Harris Interactive has found.

According to Harris Interactive, 18 percent of men will accept a woman's friend request, even if they do not know the person. About 7 percent of women will accept an unknown man's friend request. A total of 5 percent of U.S. adults will accept every friend request they receive.

The key to stealing a person's identity is built with just a handful of pieces. And much of that information is openly available on social networks.

Only 50 percent trust that their connections will keep their information private. Yet more than 24 million Americans leave their personal information "mostly public" on social networks.

Full article plus comments - http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20045787-17.html