Catfish- It’s not just for dinner

Raising Awareness About Online Impersonation 

Online impersonation amongst social media sites has become an increasingly pressing issue lately. Numerous cases of identity fraud have been reported where one’s pictures have been taken from their personal account and used on fake accounts without their knowledge. I have looked into many articles where people have been kidnapped and even killed after meeting up with an online correspondent. On Mother’s Day of this year, a 15-year-old girl of Maine was murdered after agreeing to meet with the person she thought she had been talking to online. Her murderer, Kyle Dube, 20, created a fake Facebook account with someone else's pictures. He had planned to kidnap her, hide her in a secret place, then pretend to rescue her so that he could become a hero. In the process of kidnapping her, he accidentally killed her and left her body covered in the woods. Countless instances of cyberbullying have been reported throughout the nation as well. North Carolina has enacted a statute, Section 14-458, that makes negative behaviors related to cyberbullying illegal. This statute criminalizes certain harassments, but it does not prevent the actual creation of false profiles that lead to serious online crimes. With rapidly increasing technologies, online communication is not going to become less common, especially for the generations to come. I feel that it is important for NC to pass a preventative law against online impersonation before further serious online crimes occur.

Another issue regarding false profiles is the lack of awareness on practicing safe online communication. North Carolina public schools have not yet incorporated a lot of education regarding internet safety into the curriculum. Last Friday, a Cabarrus County Schools employee was arrested after allegedly posing as a 14-year-old girl in order to solicit nude photos from teenage boys. Seven children have already been identified as victims and the employee will be charged with a felony indecent liberties with a child. This man clearly does not have a lot of respect for the law and would probably not be deterred from a law against online impersonation. But do you think if any of the victims were educated about tools such as Google Image Search, the crime could have been stopped sooner? 

Here is the link for further information:  http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/cabarrus-county-school-employee-charged-child-sex-/nbRjf/  

I was recently featured on a television series highlighting online relationships. A high school acquaintance created a profile with pictures taken from my personal account. She then started dating someone online who thought he was talking to a person who looked like me. Not only did she use my pictures, but said I had cancer as a means to further their relationship. It was shocking to hear someone else’s words behind my images, but even more shocking to realize that anyone can create a false profile. The circumstances have motivated me to work with State Representatives in order to pass a Bill against online impersonation.

I began researching North Carolina laws and found that there are no laws preventing the creation of fake social media accounts. I was able to find a law that protects NC teachers from this issue, but it does not apply to students. New York and California have already passed laws against online impersonation, a misdemeanor eligible for a fine if found guilty. Texas on the other hand has made online impersonation a felony. I understand that passing this law could lead to controversy relating to First Amendment Rights, but is vital to consider that if the account clearly does not state that they are not the person they are impersonating, it is a form of online deceit and could in some cases  be a type of defamation. Fortunately the profile that was created in my case did not portray me in an incredibly negative manner. Yet in some instances, the person in my position could suffer the consequences of a fake account if a future employer was to look them up online and find false information that was claimed to be true. I am currently researching other cases of online impersonation within the state and am learning as much as I can in order to pass this bill. I have been in contact with a NC House Representative to help determine the appropriate steps to support the bill and have started receiving support from local news to help create awareness. 

After 2 seasons of the show Catfish, we have seen no response from the source itself, Facebook. I actually read on one group's blog, Social Networking Online, that Facebook now has a new face recognition tool that identifies you when you walk into certain establishments. If they have that technology, then I definitely think they have the technology to at least help determine if an account is not real. Below is a somewhat bias article regarding Facebook’s stance on fraudulent accounts, but provides an interesting outlook on why they don’t really take action.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/facebooks-fake-numbers-on_b_2276515.html

It is important to always remember what we post online. Yet it is also important to be aware that anyone could use our images, even someone that we know. It is amazing to me that this is actually allowed. Do you feel that a law against online impersonation is necessary? If so, how do you think it could be regulated? If not, do you think the State should make a point to educate citizens on tools to find out if someone is actually who they say they are? Feel free to comment, ask questions, and provide advice. 

If you’d like to watch the episode, here are the links. 20 minutes into the After Show, I actually get to meet my impersonator and the person who thought I was the girl he fell in love with. 

http://www.mtv.com/videos/catfish-the-tv-show-season-2-reunion/1715676/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=39262&channelId=1

http://www.mtv.com/videos/catfish-the-tv-show-season-2-ep-15-mike-caroline/1715651/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=39262&channelId=1

Classmate’s Article on “FaceDeals"

http://www.info3130socialnetworkingonline.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-picture-of-your-face-is-like-money-in.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/kyle-dube-pleads-not-guilty-nichole-cable-murder_n_3466810.html