Beware: Identity Theft Through Social Networking Sites

Identity theft doesn?t always have to do with finance. Sometimes it simply involves something that can be even more valuable than money: your good name. One of the most bizarre instances of identity theft in the news lately involved the social networking site, Facebook, a bitter ex-girlfriend and a police officer in New Jersey.

Dana Thornton, 43, dated detective Michael Lasalandra for a period of three months back in 2007. Apparently, the breakup didn?t go so well, since ? as revenge ? she Thornton decided to put up a social networking page in Lasalandra?s name, essentially slandering him with the posts she made. On the page, she made reference to the fact that she ? posing as her ex ? was ?sum with a gun? interested in drugs, booze, and other illegal activities.

Lasalandra told police about the page after discovering it in 2009, and Thornton was charged with identity theft the next year, although she recently reached a plea bargain where the charges will be dropped if she completes a mandatory counseling program.

If the charges hadn?t been dropped, this case would have been one of the first where identity theft legally applied in regards to the creation of a fraudulent online ID. A judge had already ruled that this crime did meet the legal definition of identity theft.

While it is normal for breakups not to go well, and it is normal to be a little bitter, going for identity theft because of it is going way too far. Many see posting things on Facebook as a bit of a harmless prank, but this is not the case. With millions of people on the site: employers, politicians, law enforcement ? it is very important to be portrayed in a positive light. Negative postings can severely harm your credibility.

Social networking sites often seem to be behind the times when it comes to preventing their members from being victims of identity theft. Due to crimes like this one, Facebook? have added a security feature to the site to help flag potentially fraudulent accounts. Users are asked to enter a phone number so that Facebook can call and verify the accounts. If they fail to enter a number, they can no longer log in.

Of course, this is not foolproof, and may not even resolve all the issues. There are thousands of people who have fake social networking accounts for various reasons, and it is nearly impossible to detect all of them. However, this can somehow become an identity guard. The best advice I can give you is to do a search for your name on the most popular social networking sites periodically to see if an account has been set up without your knowledge. If you spot one, immediately request that the site take it down, and notify law enforcement of the fraud. What can start off as a joke ? or a silly case of revenge ? can quickly turn serious. Don?t let yourself be victimized in this way.

Filed under Identity Theft by Identity Theft Labs

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