"URGENT HELP" For Facebook Users

Public radio listeners have likely been warned that college admissions officers and prospective employers can find you on social networking sites. So, yes, keep those pictures of Jell-O shot contests and that wild Mardi Gras trip off of Facebook and MySpace. But who else is looking?

Facebook users have been targets for phishing and spammer scams in the past, but scammers are getting more clever, sometimes hacking into accounts and posting as friends in need to extort cash or other personal information. Facebook is currently being investigated by New York's attorney general's office for responding too slowly to user complaints about harassment and pornography on the site.

NHPR's New Media Coordinator Brady Carlson is here with a warning to Facebook users on how to detect scams and viruses that could compromise you.

Brady's links from the show:

• To keep up on phishing scams and other nefarious online trickery, visit Threat Level, a blog from Wired Magazine, or MSNBC's Red Tape Chronicles.




• To track your own online trail, try Google Alerts, which will check websites, blogs and news stories for any mentions of your chosen name or keyword and will send you regular e-mail updates with what it finds. Another option is Social Mention, which also follows microblogs like Twitter, online comment threads and photo sites like Flickr.

(Photo courtesy Old Shoe Woman)