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accounts hacked

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truthseeker23

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new york

someone hacked into my facebook account and sent a message to my mother in-law that was not true. then, she used the same name from my account, made a myspace account with it and sent an email to the mother of the kids i babysit. it was very long telling her i do things to her kids, it also talked about things that were said about her that i didn't say. when i first heard about this happening, i knew it was her. i sent a message to her using her real name and she responded but didn't say it was her. the mother i babysit for sent her a message agreeing with what she said about me and asked her to babysit, but said she needed to know it was really her. she sent a message back saying she would email her from her real myspace page, and she did so we now have proof it was her. is this libel and what can i do about it?
 


swalsh411

Senior Member
You don't have proof of jack squat. Her account may have been compromised as well. Did anybody actually believe the messages she sent? If not, what are your damages? Do you have thousands of dollars to spend on legal fees? Does the person who you believe did all this have any money to collect anyway?
 

KnownOne

Member
My apologies OP. Swalsh tends to generalize every legal question up to that of lawsuit and make your life misery.

This was a case of identity theft. Report to your local police department.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
My apologies OP. Swalsh tends to generalize every legal question up to that of lawsuit and make your life misery.

This was a case of identity theft. Report to your local police department.
Identity theft...righhhhhhht
 

KnownOne

Member
"Identity theft is a form of fraud in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity...[to gain benefit]"

From Wikipedia of course because I am lazy. I am assuming what the OP is saying is true. Perhaps you, Zigner, are not?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
"Identity theft is a form of fraud in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity...[to gain benefit]"

From Wikipedia of course because I am lazy. I am assuming what the OP is saying is true. Perhaps you, Zigner, are not?
Congrats on your Wikipedia lookup. :rolleyes:
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
You really think the police are going to investigate some myspace/facebook drama? What planet do you live on?
 

quincy

Senior Member
I agree with KnownOne (and, surprisingly, with Wikipedia :eek:) that this is a form of identity theft and a computer crime. It should be reported to the police.

I doubt that any defamation claim is worth pursuing, based on what you have posted here, due to the high costs involved in such a suit and the the proofs required (ie. reputational injury suffered and proof of the identity of the identity thief), but it certainly appears to be a criminal matter worth reporting to the police.

I suggest also that you contact MySpace to request removal of the fake account (keep a copy on file for any future legal action) and change your Facebook account information to prevent further unauthorized access.
 

truthseeker23

Junior Member
"You don't have proof of jack squat. Her account may have been compromised as well. Did anybody actually believe the messages she sent? If not, what are your damages? Do you have thousands of dollars to spend on legal fees? Does the person who you believe did all this have any money to collect anyway?"
__________________
it's wonderful how ppl just assume things and judge without knowing anything, or even bothering to ask!! what don't i have proof of swalsh? her account was not hacked, although, that would be a great defense for her, wouldn't it, lol?! it doesn't matter if anyone believed the messages, the messages caused me harm. they exposed me to ridicule, contempt, and caused me to almost lose my job! my damages are a wk of lost wages while everything was figured out! not to mention the stress! how do you know i don't have millions of dollars to spend on legal fees, and who said i was going to sue anyone? not everyone in the world is interested in going to court just to get money from someone else! all i want is for the messages to stop, and so far, asking nicely hasn't worked! so before you judge someone, you should probably ask some questions first. maybe if you weren't so miserable and unhappy with yourself and your life, you wouldn't respond to these questions with such hatred******************************************..
 

quincy

Senior Member
truthseeker23, there are people who post on this site who perhaps should refrain from posting a response to a question if they don't know what they are talking about or if they have no helpful information to impart (or if their response is not funny), but it is the right of every member of this forum to post (as long as the administrators allow it ;)) and it is your right to ignore whatever posts you find unhelpful. As for the post you quote, the poster could have couched his response in a better and nicer way, but the questions he asked of you were legitimate ones as they apply to a defamation suit.

As for the criminal laws that may apply in your situation, and what you can base any complaint on should you choose to file a complaint with the police, the computer hacking and the computer impersonation appear to fall under New York's Penal Code, §§190.77-190.84.

Section 190.77 provides identity theft definitions. What it appears the person who created the phony MySpace page did was violate §190.78, assuming the identity of another, which is a 3rd degree Class A misdemeanor, and §190.81, unlawful possession of a computer system password, which is also a 3rd degree Class A misdemeanor.

You can file a complaint with the FTC as well as with your local police. Go to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home for information.

You should be aware that identity theft is hard to prosecute, especially when you do not have solid proof of the identity of the thief. In addition, because you have suffered very little in the way of economic damages as a result of the theft, and your reputation has not been seriously injured as a result of the theft, and this is not a matter that involves any threats of physical harm, your complaint will probably not be a high priority for either the FTC or the police, although they will eventually handle it.

But, despite the fact that your complaints will probably not be handled quickly, filing complaints with both your local police and the FTC would be wise, in case there are any other incidents involving the person who impersonated you.

And you can always contact an attorney in your area who can review the site in question and all of the facts, and give you a better picture of what if any other, perhaps civil, actions you can take or that would be worth taking.

Good luck.
 
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You Are Guilty

Senior Member
If you really do plan on walking into a NYC police precinct to file a Facebook identity theft report, please let us know where and when this will take place. I am anxious to see NYPD's response.
 

Peg0000

Junior Member
Cyber crimes....
Some of you guys are making fun of this.
Can anyone recall the mother who pretended to be a boy and drove this girl she was "messing" with to suicide????????? hmmmmmmmmmmm?
 

quincy

Senior Member
Cyber crimes are taken seriously enough so that all states now have computer crime laws and most states have cyber crime units set up to handle the variety of computer crimes that are committed.

Many police agencies, both in large cities and in small cities, have had computer crime complaints filed with their departments and would not be surprised by one. I agree that a New York City police department, or any large city police department for that matter, may have more pressing matters to deal with than a hacking and impersonation complaint, but New York City does not all of New York make (despite what many New York City dwellers believe), so if truthseeker chooses to file a complaint, filing one at her local police department should not be difficult.
 
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