Hot Security Buzzword: Space Faking

"THE growing trend of online `space faking`, where users masquerade as other people, has reignited concerns about the safety and security of social networking sites.

"While space faking is not a crime, federal Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said such activity could be a precursor to identity theft.

"`This sort of activity can be innocent but you only have to take it a few steps forward to commit an identity crime,` he said.

"`Clever people may be able to use fake identities to gather clues about your identity and then go on to commit a crime.

"`All users have to be aware that strangers can access information you put on the internet.`

"Increasingly, social networking sites are being overrun by space fakers, who swipe other users' photos and create entirely new identities for themselves."

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