How to report a stolen Facebook photo - am worried it's being used by a pedophile

rawn

Hi all. It came to my sisters attention that another Facebook account (set up 9 hours before she saw it) was using photos of her as their profile/cover photo. The account has a girls name and their age is 17 (my sister is 20). They have about 500 friends on the account now. The account has blocked my sister, myself and a lot of her friends. We have all reported the page but FB keep saying it doesn't violate their guidelines. I think this is because we are reporting the page as "pretending to be me or someone I know*, whereas technically she's just using photos that are not their own. It's been reported at least 30 times now. The creepiest parts are:

A) The profile set it's location to somewhere very close to where she actually lives, which worries me in case some weirdo recognises "her"
A lot of the friends added are young girls and boys, also some older people from the Middle East and stuff.
C) There's some conversations on the page between other accounts eerily similar to theirs (set up recently, tonnes of friends, young girls), and other photos they have posted are fake. For example "Enjoyed my Eddie Rockets" with a photo I reverse image searched and it is stolen from online.

What can we do about this?? How can we remove the photos/shut the page down/report it? Best case scenario it's someone creating a real looking profile and adding friends with the goal of spamming them. But worst case scenario it's a pervert or pedophile who will be private messaging young girls/boys.

Any advice???

Grab All Association

Gardai ASAP

rawn

Grab All Association wrote: »

Gardai ASAP

Can they do anything though? Even Facebook doesn't seem to think they're violating any guidelines. Yesterday the accounts first name was "Lauren", now it's "Mia".

Dial Hard

I had a similar (ish) problem with a Facebook account using my photos. Like you, I reported them a few times but was told that they weren't doing anything wrong.

Tbh, I think a lot of Facebook's report investigations are automated so when you report an account for pretending to be you, they run an algorithm that just compares name/bio details etc and will come back with a "no action needed" report if they're using photos but not your sister's name, etc.

In my case, I had to report the account several times, using a different reason each time and giving as much detail as I could every time. I also got friends and family to report it and it was eventually taken down.

Just keep persevering, you will get an actual human to review it and take action eventually.

Also, pm the person telling them you've reported them. Sometimes that can be enough to frighten them into taking the page down.

rawn

Dial Hard wrote: »

I had a similar (ish) problem with a Facebook account using my photos. Like you, I reported them a few times but was told that they weren't doing anything wrong.

Tbh, I think a lot of Facebook's report investigations are automated so when you report an account for pretending to be you, they run an algorithm that just compares name/bio details etc and will come back with a "no action needed" report if they're using photos but not your sister's name, etc.

In my case, I had to report the account several times, using a different reason each time and giving as much detail as I could every time. I also got friends and family to report it and it was eventually taken down.

Just keep persevering, you will get an actual human to review it and take action eventually.

Also, pm the person telling them you've reported them. Sometimes that can be enough to frighten them into taking the page down.

Thanks, good idea. They have me blocked so I can't message them. The page and photos have been reported at least 30 times now, I tried reporting various reasons so hopefully it will be seen by a person soon. It's maddening that we can't report it for the actual reason!!

Grab All Association

You'd have to make sure they'll take this seriously. It could be a sex offender baiting teenagers or even worse a paedophile grooming children. Imagine if this person is verbally abusing or threatening people online and someone recognises your sister on the street and physically assaults her. It can happen.

Most likely culprit is one of her friends who is secretly jealous of her but she needs to report this to Gardai.

Capt'n Midnight

TBH
FB was OK with beheading videos and allowing terrorists/insurgents/people traffickers using it as a propaganda vehicle / for messaging / advertising so IMHO they are bottom feeders and responsible for many , many deaths.

Try https://www.dataprotection.ie but they are very busy since lots of US multinationals have their EU/global bases here.
https://www.dataprotection.ie/raise-a-concern/

Before you submit a complaint to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner you should contact the organisation concerned in an attempt to resolve the complaint in the first instance.

Under the Acts, information which an organisation holds about you must be accurate, only made available to those who should have it, and be used for the specific purpose for which it was gathered.

You also have the right to: access information relating to you, (in some cases) have it removed and have any factual errors rectified.

Unfortunately something like 90% of the pictures used on dodgy sites have been harvested from social media. "What goes on the internet stays on the internet" and it's very hard to put the genii back in the bottle.


Maybe try setting up a fake account , friending the malicious FB account and then sending friend requests to those linked to it and when you have a lot then warning them. But you may be ignored or flamed.
But it's a lot of work and the other account was probably scripted.

One thing that might work but far more likely to backfire spectacularly would be to post a picture of the person doing something disgusting like picking her nose, wearing KKK gear or voting for FF.

anvilfour

rawn wrote: »

Hi all. It came to my sisters attention that another Facebook account (set up 9 hours before she saw it) was using photos of her as their profile/cover photo. The account has a girls name and their age is 17 (my sister is 20). They have about 500 friends on the account now. The account has blocked my sister, myself and a lot of her friends. We have all reported the page but FB keep saying it doesn't violate their guidelines. I think this is because we are reporting the page as "pretending to be me or someone I know*, whereas technically she's just using photos that are not their own. It's been reported at least 30 times now. The creepiest parts are:

A) The profile set it's location to somewhere very close to where she actually lives, which worries me in case some weirdo recognises "her"
A lot of the friends added are young girls and boys, also some older people from the Middle East and stuff.
C) There's some conversations on the page between other accounts eerily similar to theirs (set up recently, tonnes of friends, young girls), and other photos they have posted are fake. For example "Enjoyed my Eddie Rockets" with a photo I reverse image searched and it is stolen from online.

What can we do about this?? How can we remove the photos/shut the page down/report it? Best case scenario it's someone creating a real looking profile and adding friends with the goal of spamming them. But worst case scenario it's a pervert or pedophile who will be private messaging young girls/boys.

Any advice???

Hi rawn,

I am sorry to hear what you and your sister are going through. I went through a very similar experience a few years ago, which led me to stop using my real surname on Facebook!

As you say Facebook will only intercede if the account is actively trying to impersonate your sister. Pretending you are someone you are not isn't illegal per se, so the Police will only get involved if the person creating the account breaks the law e.g through trying to threaten or defraud someone.

I don't mean to seem pessimistic but I don't think there is a legal way for you to force the closure of the account. However your sister can make a few changes to her own account to stop this thing from happening in future:

- Limit old posts so that only she and people she can see as her friends can see them (Account settings -> privacy -> Who can see my stuff? 3rd : Limit The Audience for Old Posts on Your Timeline "click Limit Old Posts" & confirm).

- Turn on Timeline Review so that public images of her can't appear automatically on her timeline and be stolen.

- Change the privacy settings on her photo albums (including past profile pictures and cover photos) to friends only. See the Photos Privacy settings of the website for more information.

- Have your sister remove her Facebook account from public search engine results (this is switched on by default).

- Ask your sister to look through her Facebook friends and remove anyone she doesn't recognise if applicable, in case the imposter has created yet another account to get her photos.

- Post a status on her account explaining that someone is impersonating her on Facebook with a link to the account itself e.g http://www.facebook.com/jane.doe

- Although it's not strictly allowed by Facebook guidelines I would also recommend changing the surname she uses so she isn't so easy to find on there (naturally she can still add people or tell people face to face that she's using a different name).

- Go to Timeline > About > Contact Information--click Edit button to limit the visibility of her phone number and/or e-mail address to "Only me", otherwise anyone can put her number into Facebook's search bar and see her account.

- (Optional but recommended) enable login approvals for her account so that when she logs into Facebook from a new location, she'll need to provide a security code that will be texted to her phone. This hugely reduces the chance of her account being hacked.

I appreciate none of this will help with removing the old account but hopefully once everyone else sees what has happened and that only old photos are being used, they'll recognise the right one.

Into The Blue

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

..or voting for FF.

STB.

It could be some poor soul who has no life and wants to live someone elses! Catfish.

The reason someone might do this could also be a little more sinister.

I would almost guarantee that the facebook account is now tied to a likewise fake Tinder account for dating (Tinder users must log in using their Unique Facebook account in order to create a Tinder profile)

Get where this is going ?

Yes it is impersonation. Yes these large Social Media companies have protocols in place for dealing with these now very common scenarios. Are they good enough. No.

Unfortunately you will have to make very large noises to get their attention as you will get tied up in an automated system. That's how prevalent it is, that they have had to engage automated systems. When they do shut it down, another may pop up.

The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation is where you need to go with any form of impersonation. They are best to inform you on when a crime has been committed. Mind you they will possible tell you that they are too busy with actual fraud cases that involve money etc.

The only true solution is not to be on social media at all!

anvilfour

STB. wrote: »

The only true solution is not to be on social media at all!

People were asking me before for examples of why I suggested editing the Information Security forum charter to make sure people avoid statements like these (see the thread here).

Not using Social Media will not stop people from impersonating you on there. It's true that having a Facebook account for instance can make it easier for someone to create a fake one as they may be able to access some of your photos and basic contact information, however if you follow the steps I outlined above you can hugely reduce the risk of your personal data being accessible to anyone other than you and your confirmed friends.

I take the more generic point that you can avoid online exposure by eschewing the internet altogether but it's a little like saying that you can avoid becoming ill by killing yourself - it's not particularly helpful! :-D

Grab All Association

Would copyright law not apply?

In Ireland, the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 sets out the rights of copyright owners and penalties for infringement of copyright.

Copyright law protects:

original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
film, sound recordings, broadcasts and the typographical arrangement of published editions
computer software and non-original databases
performances
An “artistic work” includes a work of any of the following descriptions, irrespective of their artistic quality—

(a) photographs, paintings, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, plans, engravings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, prints or similar works, collages or sculptures (including any cast or model made for the purposes of a sculpture),

(b) works of architecture, being either buildings or models for buildings, and

(c) works of artistic craftsmanship;

What is copyright for?

Copyright addresses the need for creators to retain control over their work and to receive fair compensation for the use of their work. It is illegal to reproduce or adapt works of art without the consent of the rights holder. There are a small number of exceptions when consent is not required and these are detailed below under ‘Fair Dealing’.

How long does copyright last?

In Ireland, and throughout the European Union, copyright lasts for the creators lifetime plus a further 70 years.

Who owns copyright ?

The creator of the work is usually the first owner of copyright.

When a work is commissioned or created in the course of employment, then the commissioner or employer may own the copyright, depending on the terms of the contract.

A common misconception is that the owner of an artwork automatically owns the copyright in the work. Copyright remains with the artist even when the physical artwork is sold. The only way to transfer copyright ownership is in writing.

The estate of the artist will control copyright for 70 years after the artists’ death, unless other arrangements were made during the artists’ lifetime.

It is possible to have joint copyright owners when works are created in collaboration and the contributions are not distinct.

Protection is automatic

There is no system to register copyright protection in Ireland as copyright arises automatically on the creation of an original work. You do not need to publish your work, to put a copyright notice on it or do anything else to be covered by copyright – protection is free and automatic. It is still advisable to assert your copyright whenever possible using the copyright symbol ©, your name, and the year of creation.

© Joe Artist, 2013

A work is protected from the time it is first written down or recorded in some way, provided that it has resulted from the creator’s skill and effort and is not copied from another work.

The fact that there is no system of registration of copyright means that it can be difficult for the potential user of a work to find the artist in order to seek permission. However many artists and creators are members of collecting societies which manage their rights – see our links page for a handy list.

Legal rights of copyright owners

Restricted Acts

Subject to certain exceptions, copyright gives the creator the right to prevent others from exploiting the work in various ways, without permission. The forms of restricted exploitation include copying the work; making the work available to the public; distributing the work; renting or lending it (excluding public lending in some cases); and translating, arranging or adapting the work.

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Because the copyright in an original work remains with the visual artist, even after the sale of the original piece, these restrictions enable an artist to charge a fee, or royalty for the subsequent reproduction of the work.

Moral Rights

The moral rights of interest to artists are:

i) The Paternity Right, which is the right to be identified as the author of the work

ii) The Integrity Right, which is the right to prevent mutilation, distortion or other derogatory alteration of the work which would prejudice the artists’ reputation

iii) The Right of False Attribution, which is the artists right not to have a work falsely attributed to them

Assigning and Licensing Rights

Copyright owners can assign or licence their rights. Assigning rights means someone else becomes the owner of the copyright; licensing means another person can use the work for the licensed purpose. Assignments and licenses can apply to all the rights in the material or to just some of the rights. For example an artist may give an assignment or licence to reproduce their work in a publication but retain all other rights.

Using the copyright material of others

Copyright material cannot be used without permission, with the exception of a small number of legally permitted acts. These exceptions are known as “Fair Dealing” and includes the following –

Research or Private study, provided the use does not prejudice the rights of the copyright owner.
Criticism or review, provided that the work is accompanied by an acknowledgement identifying the author and title of the work.
Reporting current events by broadcasting or film (does not apply to photographs).
Incidental inclusion, for example, unintentionally featuring an artwork in the background of a televised news report. If the artwork is deliberately included then the use cannot be considered incidental.
Uniquely for visual arts, there is an exception for works of 3D art, such as sculptures, permanently situated in a public place. These may be photographed or reproduced in 2D without the permission of the artist, so long as the artist is sufficiently credited on any reproductions. This does not apply to other types of public art such as murals or paintings hanging in a public building.
All other uses require the permission of the artist, their heir or the relevant rights organistion (such as IVARO) before using their material. Consent is normally given in the form of a licence which authorises the use of the copyright material for a particular purpose. It’s important to note that the artist’s Moral Rights will still apply even in situations where their permission is not required.

Public Domain

Once an artist has been dead for 70 years or more their artworks enter the public domain, meaning that the works are no longer subject to copyright restrictions. For ease of calculation, a work goes out of copyright on 1st January of the 71st year. In relation to film, copyright expires 70 years after the death of the last of the principle director, autor of the screenplay or dialogue and the composer of any original music for the film.

In relation to visual art, it’s important to note that the original artwork and its reproduction (such as a digital photograph of the artwork) are two different works, with two different copyrights. The photograph of the artwork may have it’s own copyright belonging to the photographer.

It is also important to note that just because an image is publically available online, does not mean that it is in the ‘public domain’. Freely available does not mean it’s free to use. Original material on the internet is protected in much the same way as other types of media. Anyone posting images on the internet must ensure that they have permission to do so, unless the use falls within a permitted exception.

Please see our Links page for further copyright related resources.

Disclaimer: The above information is for guidance only and is not intended to offer legal advice.

http://www.ivaro.ie/copyright

richardw001

My advice would be ring Facebook in Dublin - if you talk to someone there maybe they can do something - Ireland is a small country so it should be easy for them to check the validity of your claim

anvilfour

Grab All Association wrote: »

Would copyright law not apply?



http://www.ivaro.ie/copyright

I think that technically you are correct chief but for all practical intents and purposes there's little legal remedy if someone copies a picture you took on the internet.

Facebook has a page on the subject:

If someone has posted your original work (ex: photo you took, poem you wrote) without your permission, you may want to seek legal guidance to find out if your rights have been infringed. Please keep in mind that you don’t own the copyright to a photo just because you appear in it. For example, if someone else takes a photo of you that you don't like and posts it to Facebook, that isn’t a violation of your copyright under most circumstances.

You can see that Facebook here are passing the buck, technically the OP's sister could take the person in question to Cork but the possibility of any kind of injunctive relief is low, particularly as they're not sure who is behind this.

I would suggest a preventative approach, limiting timeline visibility, making posts and basic contact info available only to friends and so on (please see specific steps outlined above).

My own Facebook page to non-friends shows only name (with fake surname!), Profile pic and cover photo. That's the best way to stop people from stealing your pics in my view.

p.s Your signature made me smile, the day I see a woman driver doing everything right, is the day I eat my hat! :-D

rawn

Thanks everyone for the advice. The problem now is we don't know if the account is still there or not, as she has blocked pretty much everyone my sister knows, and changed the name of the account at least once. A reverse image search shows nothing now (though I'm not sure it did before). I'm just hoping it's been taken down. The thing is my sisters profile is completely private, but profile and cover photos are always public, so these photos can be downloaded by anybody.

Oink

After reading the charter I believe it's ok to suggest the following:

Is there a poster on Boards you trust, to whom you could pm the facebook details so they can check? I don't mind doing it but you don't know me so...

EDIT: with your sister's permission :-)

rawn

Oink wrote: »

After reading the charter I believe it's ok to suggest the following:

Is there a poster on Boards you trust, to whom you could pm the facebook details so they can check? I don't mind doing it but you don't know me so...

EDIT: with your sister's permission :-)

I don't know anyone on boards. I will pm you with the name the imposter last used and the location, if you don't mind.

vrrv

I am interested to see what happens with this

anvilfour

rawn wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice. The problem now is we don't know if the account is still there or not, as she has blocked pretty much everyone my sister knows, and changed the name of the account at least once. A reverse image search shows nothing now (though I'm not sure it did before). I'm just hoping it's been taken down. The thing is my sisters profile is completely private, but profile and cover photos are always public, so these photos can be downloaded by anybody.

Hi rawn,

What you say is very true regarding the profile and cover photos. That said it's also important to bear in mind your account can be configured to show no more than this information as well.

Personally I use a picture of a comic book character for my profile pic - don't forget you can still upload photos to your timeline if you do something like this, it's just that only confirmed friends will be able to see it.

Besides changing the surname on her account as suggested above to be ultra sure that the impersonator can't find her account again, it might also be an idea to change her username too.

STB.

anvilfour wrote: »

People were asking me before for examples of why I suggested editing the Information Security forum charter to make sure people avoid statements like these (see the thread here).

Not using Social Media will not stop people from impersonating you on there. It's true that having a Facebook account for instance can make it easier for someone to create a fake one as they may be able to access some of your photos and basic contact information, however if you follow the steps I outlined above you can hugely reduce the risk of your personal data being accessible to anyone other than you and your confirmed friends.

I take the more generic point that you can avoid online exposure by eschewing the internet altogether but it's a little like saying that you can avoid becoming ill by killing yourself - it's not particularly helpful! :-D

Hi Anvil, I just read the charter for the Infosec threads that you linked to. It wasn't an attempt to derail the thread btw.

It may have been stating the obvious, and isn't a solution, you know its the purists view. Threads about the best A/V go down the same way with me.

Your instructions are fine, but are highly dependent on all your friends being just as pro-active in following same.......

https://www.facebook.com/Facecrooks may be of some help also.

GG66

There are many fake accounts created on Facebook by outsourced agencies faking advertising success. They offer services guaranteeing a certain number of likes and use fake accounts to generate these likes. There are thousands of them and FB isn't doing anything about it as they make revenue from it.

anvilfour

STB. wrote: »

Hi Anvil, I just read the charter for the Infosec threads that you linked to. It wasn't an attempt to derail the thread btw.

It may have been stating the obvious, and isn't a solution, you know its the purists view. Threads about the best A/V go down the same way with me.

Your instructions are fine, but are highly dependent on all your friends being just as pro-active in following same.......

https://www.facebook.com/Facecrooks may be of some help also.

Hi STB,

Please accept my apologies if it seems I was implying you were trying to derail the thread, I know you mean well.

As you say what I am suggesting isn't immediately helpful to the OP, all we can do is reduce the chance in the first place that someone can steal our personal info.

challengemaster

anvilfour wrote: »

You can see that Facebook here are passing the buck, technically the OP's sister could take the person in question to Cork

It's a serious problem, but I don't think there's any need to take them to Cork. That's a bit too far! :pac:

Copyright would apply, but it's a case of how do you implement any legal remit against someone you don't know using a fake name and who has blocked your account from seeing them?

Capt'n Midnight

Point of information.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/man-jailed-after-falsely-linking-woman-with-online-pornography-1.2421444


Perhaps set up a new account, friend the fake account and post / email the above reminding then that the stakes have now raised beyond a laugh and requesting they delete the account,

Note this will only work if you think it's someone you know or local. If it's a third party in a foreign country then they'll just ignore it.

anvilfour

challengemaster wrote: »

It's a serious problem, but I don't think there's any need to take them to Cork. That's a bit too far! :pac:

Copyright would apply, but it's a case of how do you implement any legal remit against someone you don't know using a fake name and who has blocked your account from seeing them?

Apologies, damn autocorrect!

FSL

It would seem your sister was not the only one.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31710738

anvilfour

FSL wrote: »

It would seem your sister was not the only one.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31710738

Thanks FSL, I remember that one! As they say in the article though, "In fairness to the Police, what can they do?"