A new study by security firm Sophos found that Facebook users are more than willing to add total strangers as friends, thereby granting these new friends access to personal information.
The firm created two fake Facebook accounts and sent friend requests to 100 users, only to find 46 percent "blindly accepted" the invitations, CNET reports. From there, Sophos was able to access personal data about these users, including their dates of birth, multiple email addresses, and the town or city in which they reside.
Younger users were far more liberal in revealing information to total strangers than older users. However, users of all ages showed little caution in protecting their personal email addresses. The report outlined how easy access to personal information creates openings for online scammers, but it also raises questions about the marketing implications. If users willingly accept a brand as a friend, is it disingenuous to gather personal information from their profiles?
