In June, I wrote an article about how using social networking sites (like Facebook) can make you more vulnerable to identity theft.  On Saturday, I was delighted to read that the government of New South Wales, Australia has proposed legislation to combat this growing problem.

If this legislation passes, police in New South Wales will have the ability to arrest and charge online fraudsters without having to wait for them to steal money.  Under this proposed legislation, it will be illegal to use or trade any information that identifies a person, (such as name, driver's license number, social insurance/securtiy numbers, PIN numbers, etc.) for the purposes of committing a secondary crime.

In their coverage of this exciting new legislation, Australian IT included a wonderful example of the nefarious power of social networking sites.   In this highly sophisticated example, a cyber criminal logs onto Facebook and selects a victim.  That victim is traditionally middle-class, middle aged, and works a steady job.  Once a criminal selects a victim, he/she can use the personal information on Facebook to figure out exactly where the victim lives, then use public databases to find an exact address/phone number.  Once the criminal has an exact address, it becomes a waiting game - the criminal steals the victim's mail until he/she has enough information to commit a full blown identity fraud.

Under this proposed legislation, that criminal could be charged the moment he/she steals any personal information - the authorities no longer have to wait for the criminal to actually steal money/fraudulently obtain loans!