Profile Poachers

Wow man it seems that there are some people out there on the internets what takes peoples pictures from of social networking sites and use them for the own gain I myself don't believe it one bit.

But these people at this news organization came up with this story.

November 13, 2006 - You may soon think twice before uploading all of your photographs on a social networking or dating website. That's because a profile poacher is a few clicks away from becoming you.

Over 120 million people are on MySpace and millions more are on other similar websites. but You may not realize that it's incredibly easy to swipe any picture from any site. Anyone can use your own pictures to damage your reputation. Or, for all you know, you could be talking online to a "profile poacher"

It seems like everybody is uploading their lives. Picture after picture, posted on dozens of social networking and dating websites. Ryan Walker discovered that posting too many pictures made him a target.

"And sure enough, I opened it up, and there was all of my pictures on some other profile and all of this other person's interest and hobbies," said Walker.

He says someone else was using his pictures and pretending to be him on MySpace. He says he found out after a stranger thought his name was "Justin."

"I was introduced to this girl at a bar, and we were talking, and she's like, 'Wait, is your name Ryan or Justin?' And I was like, What are you talking about?" Walker said.

And with more pictures of everyone online, a faker can end up fooling you, too.

"There is no possible way to know if it's John Doe or James Jones. You take everyone for their word online. Hopefully, you're meeting the right person," said Kari Lewis.

Computer technician Peter Antkowiak showed us a website that polices the most popular pictures that people have stolen called FakersBusted.com.

"These days you can post as many pictures as you want on these websites. So it makes it easier for someone to download them all and make it seem like it is really you," said Peter Antkowiak, Geeks on Call.

Most of the Chicago area high school students ABC7 talked to say they don't worry much about people taking their on line pictures, but Precious Blackwell says a friend's bad experience keeps her cautious.

"Somebody got it and she ended up on this porno site," said Precious Blackwell, student, Curie Metropolitan High.

If that ever happened to her?

"I would probably faint," Blackwell said.

faintingurl15 I think I have some of her pictures.