All it takes is your name, date of birth and address for fraudsters to steal your identity and access your bank accounts, take out loans or take out mobile phones in your name. Recent YouGov research has revealed that a high proportion of social media users risk identity theft by giving fraudsters easy access to this type of personal information. The survey found that almost 30% of adults with a social media account include their full name and date of birth on their profile pages.

Finding out your age and where you live Even if you don’t publicly show your age on your Facebook profile, fraudsters can still work out your age from people wishing you well on your timeline. Once they have your date of birth, they can find out where you live too.

John Marsden, head of ID and fraud at Equifax, said: “People must act now to protect their finances for the long term. More adults in the UK are engaging with social media than ever before, especially on their smartphones, and a high number are readily sharing their personal information on these platforms.” My advice to consumers is to be social savvy; avoid unnecessarily sharing personal details and risking your identity on platforms that can so easily be exploited.