Security News > 2023 > April > Cybercriminals use simple trick to obtain personal data

People reveal more personal information when you ask them the same questions a second time - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

The research team say that understanding why people disclose personal data could help inform measures to address the problem.

From subscribing to online newspapers to completing customer surveys, our personal data is being mined continuously; the world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.

"We wanted to know more about why people share large amounts of personal information, particularly over social networks, without protecting that information from unintended recipients. Advertisers, marketers and social media gurus believe that repeated requests will lead to increased compliance. So we wanted to find out how these repeated requests change our behaviour, and whether they can lead us to do things, like sharing personal information, that we otherwise would not do," added Dr Fleming.

The research team asked 27 study participants for a range of personal information online including their height, weight and phone number as well as their opinions on topics including immigration, abortion, and politics.

"Dr Fleming said:"Our first study showed that asking for real personal data led to increased information disclosure when asked again.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/04/10/simple-trick-disclose-personal-data/