The Drury Mirror

Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News

Tijuana Julian [Click to enlarge]

Professor Teresa Hornsby was excited when she found the newly created profile of a friend on Facebook.

But Hornsby soon realized the Facebook Web page claiming the name of her colleague, Tijuana Julian, was far from being the real thing.

The profile included a photo, degree information, hobbies and even a current status which read "hangin' in my office."

Julian, dean of students, was unaware the page had been created until Hornsby notified her. "It's scary that someone can just put all this stuff on there about you," said Julian, who noted she rarely uses the site and would not have noticed had Hornsby not tipped her off.

Julian's bogus profile became just one of thousands of "imposter profiles," now prominent on social networking sites Facebook and Myspace.

A simple Facebook search revealed more than 70 profiles - including profile photos - of President George Bush, seven claiming to be created by Brad Pitt and even one of former president Abraham Lincoln.

Anyone with an e-mail address can create a profile page, and it's almost impossible to verify the identities of new registrations.

While Myspace has always been plagued with this problem, it's a new one in the Facebook world. In the past Facebook registration required an e-mail address issued by a college or university, but opened up the site to all users in September 2006.

Julian's bogus profile has since been removed by Facebook. Neither Hornsby or Julian, however, are claiming to have reported the page to site administrators.

Facebook officials did not return The Mirror's e-mails for comment but have made it known they won't stand for such pranks. "We certainly do not want anything false posted on Facebook, and we are very proactive in dealing with it," said Melanie Deitch, Facebook's spokeswoman in an interview with The Detroit News. "It's part of the growing pains as people learn how to use social networks.

Both Facebook and Myspace have systems in place to prevent fraud, but it's up to the offended user to discover the mistake and report it to officials. Myspace even requires some users to send a "salute," a photo with a "friend ID" or e-mail address to verify one's identity. Special forms for teacher/faculty members are available to expedite the process, however.

In Julian's case, Hornsby found the illegitimate profile and contacted her directly. "I knew Tijuana didn't write that," said Hornsby. "So, I e-mailed her and asked her if she had a Facebook page and she said NO!!!"

Hornsby said she even warned professors and students who had posted on Julian's wall that that the profile page was fabricated.

Legal action has been taken against some abusers of the system, according to an Associated Press article. Two 16-year old San Antonio high school students - and their parents -- are being used after the teenagers created a bogus Myspace profile for Anna Draker, their school's assistant principal. Draker is charging defamation, libel, negligence and negligent supervision and is suing for an unspecified amount for damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, lost wages and court costs.

Not everyone is against the idea of fake profiles, however. Several Facebook groups have formed in support of the profiles, including "Save the Fictional Characters!," a group boasting almost 1,800 members on Facebook's global network. Members have the ability to join and create groups that connect individuals who share the same interests and beliefs.

In response to the group's popularity, Facebook removed more than 3,000 fictional members who belonged to the group "The Largest Group for Fictional Characters, Famous People and Super Heros."

Hornsby says she'll be more watchful in her future Facebook endeavors, now being cautious of even her own identity. "I've never noticed it before, though I'll look more closely from now on."

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