Jepsen
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has requested information from Facebook about its procedures for detecting and disabling fraudulent accounts.
The request follows a complaint by Milford legislator Rep. Kim Rose, D-118th District, who alleged that her identity was misused in a scam to solicit money from her friends.
Rose alleges that Facebook failed to respond quickly to her request that the site remove the fraudulent scam, which was using her name and photograph to solicit money without her permission.
The complaint followed other public reports of security lapses following the hacking of private Facebook pages, Jepsen said, including the page of Facebook's CEO.
"I'm pleased that the Attorney General has recognized the significance of this matter for consumers and has worked so quickly to get some answers," Rose said. "I'm hopeful this action will help to protect other consumers from identity theft in the future."
On Monday, Jepsen wrote a letter to Facebook warning that his office would look into the matter "because of the real and immediate danger of financial fraud and identity theft associated with this scam."
Jepsen is seeking information about the number of complaints received by Facebook over the last 18 months concerning fraudulent or "hacked accounts."
He also asked for the company's policies and procedures for responding to complaints as well as how long it took for the company to address them. Additionally Jepsen questioned the company about any safeguards meant to detect and disable fake or "hacked" Facebook accounts.
Jepsen asked that the information be provided to his office by Feb. 22.
"My hope is to work cooperatively with Facebook to ensure that is users in Connecticut and elsewhere are provided adequate security and receive quick and effective responses when security breaches occur," Jepsen said.