A little cyber-criminal behavior?

The Scriptures tell us a good name is to be desired. They talk about the importance of a good reputation, and we’re warned in the epistles that we will be judged by our fruit.

I’ve been pondering these ideas all week as I’ve grappled with a thwarted reputation. My Facebook account was hacked by an Imposter who went to all the trouble of setting up a fake yahoo e-mail address in my name. The Imposter, presenting himself as me on my Facebook page, then approached my friends and begged them to send money as, Imposter me explained, I had been held up by gunpoint in London and lost all my cash.

In one of those ironies you cannot plan for, earlier that day I had posted a comment on World Magazine‘s Whirled Views in which I warned that if you run into problems in a foreign land, you should contact the US Embassy! (See comment # 52 here: http://online.worldmag.com/2011/02/19/whirled-views-02-19-2/#comments)

With the help of several friends, I straightened it out, reclaimed my Facebook page and excised an ap placed by the Imposter that would enable said Imposter to continue manipulating my account.

The next day, Facebook declared my account had shown “cyber-criminal behavior,” and was frozen. As of today, Thursday, I’ve still not cleared my name with Facebook.

I’m not important in the Facebook world, except to my friends. But what if I were important and my account was hacked? What then?

Keep watch on Books & Such’s blog. I’ll be discussing this situation and others in March. 🙂

In the meantime, take my advice. Change your e-mail password frequently. Monitor your accounts. Check your security on Facebook. Guard your reputation.

A good name is easy to lose and hard to regain.