Online crooks stealing Facebook profiles for just 89p!

London, December 16 (ANI): A probe by security experts has revealed that cyber criminals tend to work up a fortune by selling stolen Facebook profiles for an amount as low as 89p.

According to Trend Micro specialists, hackers break into social networking accounts to steal personal information of users to sell them off to criminal groups who then use the details to send "spam" messages to million others.

The wrong-doers tend to send an invitation to account holders to view videos or pictures of family and friends, which on being clicked allow access to the victims' computer, reports the Sun.

The computer is then infected with spyware to obtain a copy of their keystrokes the acquisition of which can allow access to secret information, such as passwords, bank details, and other personal fields.

While Internet banking logons cost 35 pounds each, a million international email addresses for spamming purposes can be traded for just four pounds.

The company's Rik Ferguson said: "We give away a huge amount of personal information on social networking sites. Hordes of cyber criminals are drawn to them.

"Whether you're going online to use Facebook, or for banking or Christmas shopping, you should be aware that hacking and identity theft tends to increase at certain times of the year." (ANI)