Real Deal: How To Avoid Scraping

PHILADELPHIA - If you're a Facebook fanatic or obsessed with Twitter, you don't need us to tell you why they are addictive.

But there is a warning about copycat social sites.

Fox 29 consumer reporter Michelle Buckman can speak from personal experience.

Michelle's Blog: New E-Mail Scam

I accepted an e-mail invite for a new social website. The next thing I knew, everyone in my address book received an e-mail from me, inviting them to check out the site.

I had to send a mass apology for the inadvertent spam. Turns out new social sites are trying to up their membership numbers and are willing to dig through your address book to do it!

"What if just one percent signed up because they think it's from you and each one of those contacts have 500? They could have millions and millions of e-mail addresses that they can then use to promote different products, send out e-mails, do exactly what they did to you and many other people,” says Anthony Mongeluzo of Pro Computer Service.

A website's fine print may have info about sharing e-mail addresses, but few people ever read it!

Computer expert Anthony Mongeluzo tells me this a new form of phishing.

It's called 'scraping'. It's not a virus, but it can be damaging.

"If you're a person who uses the same password for other sites, once you type in that password, they could use your e-mail address and password to try to log into your Amazon.com account, your banks whatever. So there is an element to identity theft with it, but right now they're just trying to build their numbers and their book of business,” says Mongeluzo.

Your user name and password for your e-mail account should be unique. Don't use them for social sites! Instead set up a separate e-mail account which won't have your contact list.

Before you accept any invites, e-mail the friend that's supposedly inviting you and make sure it's legit.

Finally, clean up your contact list so you don't end up sending spam to ex-boyfriends still lingering in your address book.

Check out my blog for a lot more info and helpful hints on how to protect yourself.