Stephen: Hello I'm Stephen.

　　Alice: And I'm Alice.

　　Stephen: And this is 6 Minute English. This week we're talking about social networks.

　　In the past few years, social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook

　　have experienced a huge rise in the number of people using them.

　　Alice: Sometimes called social media, they offer their members or users an easy and

　　entertaining way to maintain links or stay in contact with people they know

　　and trust.

　　Stephen: And do you use social media much, Alice?

　　Alice: I do, especially with friends who live abroad.

　　Stephen: Well, social networking websites have been in the news recently because of

　　worries about their safety. There’s evidence to show that criminals are trying

　　to trick people into giving away their passwords for example. But before we

　　find out more, are you ready for today's question Alice?

　　Alice: I am, I hope it’s not too hard.

　　Stephen: Well, we’ll see! Can you name the first celebrity to have more than 10 million

　　people following his or her updates on Twitter? Was it:

　　a) Ashton Kutcher

　　b) Lady Gaga

　　c) Stephen Fry

　　Alice: Oh, I would guess Lady Gaga.

　　Stephen: I won’t give you the answer just yet - we'll find out at the end of today's

　　programme. But more about today’s topic. Lots of people use sites like

　　Facebook and Twitter to publish short messages or status updates about what

　　they're doing. They also use them to share photographs or web links.

　　Alice: A status update is a way of telling other users about what you are doing right

　　now. But this can sometimes reveal personal information, which criminals

　　might use to scam people into giving away their passwords or other

　　confidential information.

　　Stephen: A scam is a way of cheating or tricking somebody into giving you money or an

　　important piece of information. Here's the BBC's technology correspondent

　　Mark Gregory to explain how some of these scams work:

　　Insert 1: Mark Gregory

　　Social networking is all about maintaining links with people you know and trust, which

　　makes networking services like Facebook an obvious target for scams involving

　　impersonation. The scale of the problem is highlighted in the latest six monthly security

　　intelligence report from the computer software giant Microsoft. Drawing on information

　　from 600 million computer systems around the world, the report says social networking

　　provides a lucrative hotbed of opportunities for fraudsters.

　　Stephen: So Mark Gregory explains that sites including Facebook are obvious targets.

　　With information from 600 million computers, experts say social networks

　　provide a lucrative hotbed of opportunities for fraudsters.

　　Alice: A lucrative hotbed - it could be very profitable or beneficial for criminals

　　trying to access peoples' personal information. Fraud is the name given to the

　　criminal act of cheating somebody for money – and a fraudster is somebody

　　who commits fraud.

　　Stephen: Now let’s find out about one particular form of online fraud. Here’s the BBC’s

　　Mark Gregory again. Listen out for the word phishing and see if you can

　　understand what it is:

　　Insert 2: Mark Gregory

　　Phishing frauds take the form of messages that often appear to come from someone the

　　user knows - friends or colleagues perhaps - that trick them into providing information

　　useful to criminals.

　　Stephen: Did you hear the word phishing? It's spelt differently to how you might expect

　　it to be - p.h.i.s.h.i.n.g. Phishing is where you get an email or message that you

　　think was sent by somebody you know. But appearances can be deceiving.

　　Alice: Deceiving - it isn’t what it appears to be.

　　Stephen: Phishing emails fish for information about people - that’s why the word sounds

　　like fish, the creatures in the sea. They might appear as an email from

　　somebody you already know, or pretend to be from a trusted website or

　　company.

　　Alice: Phishing emails encourage you to hand over important personal information,

　　such as your password or username.

　　Stephen: And with this information, criminals might be able to gain access to, or get into

　　your Facebook or your Twitter account.

　　Alice: So are there any ways we can protect ourselves from this kind of scam or

　　fraud, Stephen?

　　Stephen: Well, it’s important to be very careful about the information you share online.

　　Lots of social networks have advice or guidelines on creating a secure

　　password and on how to stay safe online.

　　Alice: I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

　　Stephen: Exactly. The report from Microsoft says there has been a twelvefold - or

　　1200% increase - in the number of phishing attacks since last year.

　　Alice: That's a very large increase.

　　Stephen: So we should be vigilant.

　　Alice: Yes, we need to keep our eyes open and pay careful attention to any

　　suspicious-looking emails or messages.

　　Stephen: And before we go today Alice, do you have the answer to my question?

　　Can you name the first celebrity to have more than 10 million people following

　　his or her updates on Twitter?

　　Alice: And I said Lady Gaga.

　　Stephen: And you’re right!

　　Alice: Oh, good!

　　Stephen: All up-to-date on the latest pop music! And before we go, Alice, would you

　　mind reading some of the words from today’s programme?

　　Alice: Of course:

　　social networks

　　status update

　　scam

　　fraudsters

　　a lucrative hotbed

　　Stephen: Thanks, Alice. Well, it’s time for us to log off from today’s 6 Minute English.

　　See you next time.

　　Both: Bye!