Since MySpace began Facebook and the explosion of social media sites have coincided with the massive growth of online shopping, identity theft has become a major criminal operation that has seen hundreds of thousands of victims having savings stolen and credit ratings ruined. While many believe this is solely the result of online shopping through sites with inadequate security measures, more identity theft is being generated from hacking attacks like the one Target recently experience and supported with the massive amount of personal information placed on social media sites by private citizens.

A few years back, British investigative journalists approached a criminal who specialized in identity theft crimes to ask how easy it was to steal someone's identity or commit theft against someone with readily available information or Open-Source Intelligence. What they learned was shocking when it was revealed that while the easiest way to steal from someone was to monitor their Facebook profiles to see when people would announce they would be away on vacation or a business trip. They eventually learned that with so many social media sites going mobile, a resourceful thief could easily access information that would make it relatively easy for credit cards to be used and back accounts to be accessed and drained of their savings. And while having privacy settings on Facebook and Twitter set at the highest level possible, information can still be obtained with a little effort.

Additionally, with personal computers being the target of malware attacks all the time, home computers that are used to access bank accounts and credit reports can also provide resourceful hackers with more valuable information that will make identity theft and cyber-theft even easier. The team at Martin D. Fragale Investigations is advising extreme diligence on the part of private citizens, not only in terms of what information they share on social networks but also in terms of the firewall, anti-virus and security software they use at home as well as ensuring that any wireless router is password protected as well. The harder it is for a cyber-thief to access your private information, the more likely they are to pass you by and move on to the next individual who is not taking their security as seriously.

Martin D. Fragale Investigations, a North Carolina-based private investigation practice, provide numerous personal and commercial investigative services to the North and South Carolina communities. Martin D. Fragale, founder of the company, graduated with a Criminal Justice Degree in 1994 and has 14 years of Private Investigative experience. Prior to founding the company in North Carolina, Martin was a co-owner and Sr. Investigator of a New York-based private investigation practice for 10 years. Among the areas that the company specializes in are background investigations, trial prep attorney services, matrimonial investigations, sports and recreational activities investigations, surveillance, criminal defense investigations, school district services, insurance claims investigations and other legal services. They can be reached at (716) 553-1898 or via e-mail at martin@ncprivatei.com.