Facebook users fall victim to identity theft

Government regulators announced that the Consumer Protection Commission has received 15 consumer claims from across Taiwan for identity theft and online fraud on the social networking Web site. The complaints came from Facebook users who have been billed up to NT$2,000 each for text messages that they did not make.

The victims, who received text messages as part of Facebook's online application games, were billed for the texts without realizing they were being charged. The site has a popular function for users to create games and fun quizzes for other users.

The complaints stated that after Facebook users took a quiz, they were asked to enter their mobile phone number into the Web site to receive the quiz result. Not only was the texting fee added to their phone bill without their knowledge, the users were automatically enrolled in a paid service charged to them by the quiz creator.

While it is possible to resolve the disputed telephone bills, revealing personal information to a third party is difficult to reverse, according to the Law and Regulation Commission.

The commission warned that because personal information is required to register for a Facebook account, identity thieves can easily steal this data. Before users can play Facebook games, they must allow game creators to access their profile information, photos and network of friends. All the personal information a user has entered including home addresses and phone numbers, become vulnerable targets.

The Consumer Protection Commission said a formal investigation is only possible through an international legal procedure, since Facebook does not have a Taiwan division. However, if any individuals or companies in Taiwan are found to have used the site as a platform for identity theft or online fraud, a penalty of up to NT$1.5 million can be issued for violating relevant consumer protection law.

To decrease chances of identity theft on Facebook, remove games or quiz applications immediately after use, or avoid such applications altogether to block strangers from accessing personal information. Another protection strategy is to avoid using a real home address and telephone number.

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