It took computer safety expert Linda Criddle only nine minutes to snag the phone number of a teenage girl in Nebraska who had posted just a little info about herself on a social networking Web site.

Criddle is a former Microsoft employee who specialized in online safety and is the author of a consumer-safety book, “Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Web.”

She spoke at the Economic Crime Conference sponsored by the Utah Attorney General’s Office

on Thursday — with a data that would send shivers down any parent’s spine.

Criddle said social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, can be useful tools, as are other things such as online banking and shopping, which she uses regularly. But she strongly urges consumers to protect themselves with the best safety software available and to be extremely cautious about revealing personal info.

Criddle on Thursday focused primarily on how criminals […]

Orginal post by dhiram