MySpace is an incredible online community which gives members the opportunity
to make new friends, reconnect with long lost friends, network or even meet
potential romantic partners. While there are many great social aspects to using
MySpace it is also important to not there is the potential for predators to be
lurking on MySpace. These predators may either be nonmembers who simply comb
member profiles in search of useful information or they may be members who
create profiles which mask their true identity and foster online friendship for
devious purposes. In general the harm which can come from using MySpace could be
either physical or financial. This article will discuss how MySpace members can
avoid physical or financial harm by keeping their personal information personal.

Avoiding Physical Harm

Those who agree to meet online friends in person put themselves at risk for
physical harm. Although in many cases agreeing to meet an online friend in
person will not lead to any problems there is always the potential for your
online friend to really be a harmful predator. Not agreeing to offline meetings
is the most obvious way to avoid this type of danger. However, there are other
precautions MySpace members can take to avoid the possibility encountering their
online friends in person.

Not posting information which can be used to track you down can help to minimize
the risk of physical harm which results from interactions with MySpace members.
The most obvious information which can be used for this purpose is a full name
and an address. Additionally, a telephone number can be used to find out your
address. These are not the only ways predators can find you. For example if you
have pictures of yourself posted on your MySpace website and post a blog entry
about your plans to visit Disney Land on a particular weekend, Internet stalkers
can use this information to find and abduct you.

Avoiding Financial Harm

The information on a MySpace website can also be used, by Internet predators, to
commit identity theft or other types of financial fraud. When using MySpace care
should be taken to avoid giving out sensitive information such as full name,
address, social security number, credit card numbers and bank account numbers.
This type of information can be used to commit identity theft and the results of
identity theft can be financial ruin including bankruptcy and damaged credit.