Facebook enables one-click identity theft option for rogue application developers

by Sebastian Anthony on January 16, 2011 at 12:26 PM

In a rather odd and haphazard move, Facebook has now made it possible for apps to read your home address and mobile telephone number.

In the "Request for Permission" window -- the one you have to accept before using an app on the Facebook platform -- look out for "Access my contact information", with the subtitle "Current Address and Mobile Phone Number" (see image above). You'd think that such important details would deserve a bolder warning, instead of the usual faded gray -- but obviously not.

As Sophos' Naked Security blog points out, making such details available in a landscape that is already packed full of rogue spam and scam applications puts Facebook users at even greater risk. With your full name and home address, identity theft basically becomes a no-brainer -- and can you imagine the SMS spam that awaits the unlucky Facebooker that gives his phone number to the wrong app developer?

Read more...
http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/16/facebook-enables-one-click-identity-theft-option-for-rogue-application-developers/

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