hennypenny Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 My daughter has told me about a girl on facebook who has rapidly acquired a lot of teenage friends amongst my daughters social circle. She is only asking teenagers. She has been chatting to them a lot and is supposedly a teenager who has just moved to Sheffield and is looking for new friends. My daughter thought her photos looked familiar and found them on a popular fashion site, where they actually belong to a Finnish 20 year old. It looks as though someone has taken the photos and created a profile for themselves as a teenage girl specifically to make friends with Sheffield teenagers. Who should I report this to? I have pressed the report button on Facebook but there is nowhere to give details of why I am reporting it, I can only say that I think it is a fake profile - I would prefer a deeper investigation on this, as I am concerned that this could be a paedophile looking for vulnerable targets. Is this something the police would investigate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 From here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety#!/help/?topic=reportabuse I need to report an impostor profile. If someone has created an account to impersonate or imitate you, pleas... If someone has created an account to impersonate or imitate you, please go to the impostor profile and click "Report/block this person" at the bottom of the left column. Check the "Report this Person" box, choose "Fake Profile" as the reason, and add "Impersonating me or someone else" as the report type. Be sure to add a valid web address (URL) leading to the real profile so that we can review the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hennypenny Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 I didn't get that choice when I reported it, I only got the option to click on fake profile, nothing further. I think it is probably because I am not on her friends list, as she is only befriending teenagers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Why not ask your daughter to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C. Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 you could try abuse@facebook.com - it's amazing that they don't give out an email address, particularly when it's illegal in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I'd notify CEOP: http://www.ceop.gov.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 One thing I would say though is, it’s not illegal to use another image on your profile other than that of yourself. This could well be a teenager new to the area. Reporting it to the police would probably be better than to facebook as the user could easily just disappear and come back with another profile, while the police have more power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukstudent Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I'd notify CEOP: http://www.ceop.gov.uk/ Personally I think that could be taking it a bit far at this stage. There is no evidence that anything illegal is going on. As for the fact that the person is only asking teenagers, of course teenagers are going to mainly ask other teenagers. I would contact facebook and possibly the police, but as already said, there is no rule saying you cannot use a photograph of someone else on your profile. Its usually a lot safer not to put a photo of yourself/personal details on the internet that anyone in the world can see!. See what the police say and then consider matters further if you feel it necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hennypenny Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 Why not ask your daughter to do it. My daughter had more sense than to add this person as a friend when she did not know her. I will try and ask one of the teens who has added her to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hennypenny Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 Personally I think that could be taking it a bit far at this stage. There is no evidence that anything illegal is going on. As for the fact that the person is only asking teenagers, of course teenagers are going to mainly ask other teenagers. The home educated community is quite a close one, and it would be unusual for someone to have moved to Sheffield without having checked out what meetings etc were on in advance and without making themselves known to the rest of the community. I would contact facebook and possibly the police, but as already said, there is no rule saying you cannot use a photograph of someone else on your profile. Its usually a lot safer not to put a photo of yourself/personal details on the internet that anyone in the world can see!. See what the police say and then consider matters further if you feel it necessary. I rang the local police non-emergency line and they said there was nothing they could do as they have no power over facebook. I agree that teens would add other teens, but there is something that feels wrong about this one - eg, lapdancing is noted as a hobby which is unusual for a 15 year old. It is not just one profile pic, they have taken a whole series of photos from another person's site and put them down as evidence of their life, including a boyfriend etc. It is just a bit creepy. As the police have said they can do nothing, and it has now been reported to facebook, I will just warn everyone I know and let them make their own decision. If this really is a home educated teenager, they will be known to someone as it is quite a close community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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