Copying stars on social media opens door to fraud, warns bank

POSTING pictures of pets on Instagram is putting young people at risk of fraud, a major bank has said as it warned under-25s against copying celebrities’ bad online habits.

Santander has said the celebrity trend of oversharing personal informa- tion on social media, such as the name of a pet or your birthday, can raise the risk of identity fraud as people often use these details for passwords.

Research by the bank found that a third of under-25s have copied celebrity posts and 87 per cent share per- sonal information on social media.

One in 10 confessed they had shared the name of a pet on Instagram while also using it as a password. The bank said celebrities set a bad example by posting intimate details online, such as birthdays and the names of pets, which could be used by fraudsters.

American singer Taylor Swift regularly posts on Instagram about her cats; Meredith, Olivia and Benjamin. And Kylie Jenner shares so much about her two dogs, Norman and Bambi, that they now have their own account with almost half a million followers.

Earlier this year, soap actor Dean Gaffney, was criticised after revealing his bank details to almost 65,000 Instagram followers, when he posted a picture where the card number and expiry date were clearly visible.

A survey of 2,000 people by One Poll, commissioned by Santander, found 40 per cent of under-25s are influenced by what celebrities post online, while 78 per cent do not know how to protect themselves from identity theft. The results come as scam prevention charity CIFAS reports a 26 per cent rise in fraud cases targeting under-21s in 2018.

Jodie Cook, a social media expert, said: “It’s worrying to see influential celebrities share so many personal details online. Sharing names of family members and your date of birth is risky and is turning people’s social media profiles into a fraudster’s paradise.”

Ms Cook’s tips for avoiding online fraud include: do not reveal your date of birth; do not overshare the name of your pets; avoid giving away family details like your middle name or mother’s maiden name; do not disclose private memories such as where you were born; and make sure no sensitive documents are visible when posting photos.

Chris Ainsley, head of fraud strategy at Santander, added: “Check that your privacy settings are on, stay vigilant and consider what you’re giving away before hitting ‘post’.”