Fake Facebook profile page victim awarded $43,000 in damages

Posted by Joe on August 5th, 2008

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A judge in the United Kingdom awarded about $43,000 in damages to a man who had been victimized by a fake Facebook profile. The profile, which was been created by a former friend and business associate, included personal information about the victim including his birth date, home address, relationship status and daily whereabouts. Additionally, the fake Facebook profile made false claims related to the victim's sexual orientation and political affiliations. The victim's brother found the fake profile after it had been live on Facebook for a little more than two weeks and it was removed.

Our Facebook identity theft protection guide covered several tips on how to protect your identity while using the popular social network. What we didn't note in our guide, and what this UK case makes painfully clear, is that Facebook makes it relatively easy for anyone to create a fake profile page in your name since it requires little or no actual identity verification. Luckily, it is relatively easy to report a fake Facebook profile if you believe that you have been victimized in a similar fashion.

If you already have a Facebook account simply visit the Facebook “Report a Fake Profile” page and enter the requested information.

If you don't have a Facebook account you can ask a friend that does have an account to report the fake page on your behalf. Alternatively, you can send an email to “login@facebook.com”. Briefly explain that a fake profile has been created in your name and provide your contact information so that a member of the Facebook support team may contact you to investigate the matter further.

• How to report a fake profile page on Facebook
• Facebook phishing scams increase risk of identity theft on the popular social network
• Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide: 6 tips to protect your identity on Facebook
• Facebook security flaw exposes personal information
• I think I have been the victim of identity theft. What can I do?