In light of recent news stories, we would like to advise our members about the potential risks of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
Whilst we recognise the fun and useful nature of such sites, we would advise you to remember that they are public forums and your information may be visible to anyone, including people outside of your social groups.
For example, if you post a party on Facebook many people may see this, and it could lead to unwanted guests. We have also been alerted to a number of “lost phone” groups that are public and where phone numbers can be easily obtained.
Facebook can be a great tool for organising groups or events, but we advise you to ensure that only people who you have invited are permitted to join the group or event, or that you set the group or event to ‘secret’ so that people cannot view the information.
Please also remember that people may be able to see your contact details and personal information. There are privacy settings available on Facebook and MySpace should you wish to limit the visibility of your details.
You can see some recent news stories about the risks associated with social networking sites at:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2128265,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6902333.stm
