13/03/2007

Parents are being urged to monitor their teenage children while using social networking sites in order to make sure they do not become victims of ID theft.

A new survey from Webroot Software reveals that up to 82 per cent of teenagers regularly visit social networking sites and while parents may think this activity is harmless, they could be putting themselves and their children at risk by failing to recognise the dangers involved.

Webroot Software says that young people using these sites risk becoming victims of identity theft, or causing their parents to become victims, by signing up for new accounts, taking part in instant messaging chat and downloading games and screen savers, all of which can expose their PCs to spyware infection.

Once it has attached itself onto a computer, spyware can quickly and easily collect personal information such as addresses, bank details and other sensitive data that is stored on the PC, allowing fraudsters to access it.

Peter Watkins, chief executive of Webroot Software, said: 'This survey highlights the need for parents to be ever-vigilant in monitoring the activity taking place on their home PC. Online socialising has rapidly become the new way to network and make friends, yet it is also one of the easier ways to become a victim of malware.'

New data from PandaLabs shows that spyware was responsible for the largest number of PC infections in February.