Would you mention this issue to this person?

Mention this article that you saw. Ask him if he knows about it.

Btw, I got the link from Shilolo. So, credit where credit is due.

That is a little worrying. Is there a way you would bring up the subject casually?
“I noticed your birthday is the same day as my sister’s, but she’s 5 years younger. I saw it on Facebook, actually. Do you reckon it’s safe to have birthdates written down in a public site? I once read that… etc.” And like Allie mentioned… there are numerous other articles out there.

@Allie Thanks. He loves tech stuff. I can just send him the article.

@shilolo Thanks in absentia.

I put my bank accounts and social security on my facebook and twitter, haven’t had an issue yet… of course it helps to have shitty credit in the first place I suppose…

Weird, pretty much everyone I know on Facebook had their birthdays on there…because it tells me their age and the birth date. I guess I’ll check out that article, but I don’t see what the problem is.

@casheroo- I just keep the month and date on facebook. The year I keep private.

Why not just be direct? “I’m a little worried at seeing your full date of birth posted on Facebook. That could compromise the security of your personal information. Just wanted to let you know I’m concerned.”

I don’t see the problem of just mentioning it directly—although it does seem like everyone on facebook puts their birthdays.

Me, too, I just have the month & date. No year.

I feel quite idiotic.
I had no idea leaving your birthdate could be so…scary. And I do it a lot! twitter, tumblr, myspace, facebook! ahh!

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I think the fact that it tells me everyones ages mean I can figure out which year they were born in, and only some don’t tell me their age (under the birthdays in events) I never realized so much could be figured out from a birth date.

@casheroo yeah, it’s scary, isn;t it? Some people are just too smart for their own good & use it for nefarious purposes.

I had almost $10,000 stolen due to identity theft. The thief worked at Bank of America, and had all the information from my mom’s account.

I agree that it probably is an invitation. When I call my bank, all I need to know to get into the system is my bank card number and my birthdate. Just saying. I would probably mention it. I guess it depends on how close you are. Sending him the article sounds like a good plan. @Allie + Shilolo for the win.

@aiwendil Thank you for the suggested wording. I used a version of that in my email to him.

@Marina- You’re welcome. I’m glad to be useful. :D

The privacy setting allow you to control who sees what on our profiles. Perhaps he only lets people he trusts closely that already know the information to see it. I know mist if my co-workers’ birthdays, and I can guess the year because I know how old they are.

Even here on Fluther, many of us have mentioned our ages and birthdays… I guess that’s one instance where not having time stamps on answers is a benefit!

Update: He says he knows the risk, but is OK with it. Shrug.

The privacy settings on FB allow you whether to show your b-day, no b-day or b-day/year. Usually you can tell by their pictures or by their friends. I personally add 10 years to the year I was actually born, for kicks and giggles, and HOPEFULLY, people will say “hey, she looks great for her age!” Notice I said HOPEFULLY!