While experts point to a rising risk of falling victim to cyber crimes, Poles are quick to disclose their sensitive data to perfect strangers.

Alicja Baczynska reports

An experiment recently run by daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna has provided tangible proof that Poles are oblivious to the threats that the Internet may pose. The paper opened a fictitious account on two social networking websites Facebook and Nasza Klasa, sending out 100 friend requests to random people. A third of the requests were accepted, thus revealing private information, such as phone numbers, dates of birth, e-mail addresses, to a complete stranger without a moment’s thought.

Such lack of cautiousness makes people easy targets, exposing them to identity theft or cyber crime, both growing problems of the digital domain. And offenders are quick to take advantage of careless behaviour or gullibility of unsuspecting users.