Cybercrime increases with Facebook

COUNTY — Police officials report that the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook has generated a flood of complaints about cyberbullying, and other Internet-based crimes.

Oxford Police Chief Jon Tibbetts said cyberbullying is a recurring issue in his town.

"Facebook is the real bane of society," he said. "Everyone seems to live on Facebook, and express opinions, and call people names."

Tibbetts said that he gets at least five to six calls per week, ranging from teens to people in their 30s and 40s. 

Like Oxford, Paris has also been dealing with harassment via social media on a constant basis.

Paris Police Chief David Verrier said that the Internet is not an easy place to track down criminal mischief. One issue he has had to deal with is young people posting inappropriate pictures of themselves online. 

Paris Sergeant Skip Mowatt said that he has dealt with at least three to four cases of people posting naked photos of their ex-boyfriend or girlfriend online as blackmail. If the perpetrator fails to delete the photo from their phone or Facebook, Mowatt said that it can quickly become a case of child pornography.

"When the pictures get beyond reach it's difficult to track down," said Verrier. "Another constant issue with us is Facebook. ... They are typical teen issues, like name calling."

According to Mowatt, students have their differences in school, and instead of trying to air the issues out, they get on Facebook and continue to "stir the pot."

"'You're fat,' 'you're ugly,' 'you stole my boyfriend,'" are the usual cases Mowatt deals with.  "If it gets to where they are making threats face to face, and when it becomes a legal issue, I tell them to go to the police. Sometimes it gets personal and sometimes it's generic," he said.

In May, an Oxford Hills graduate made statewide news by posting a "smut list" of students who were supposedly promiscuous. The page was deleted after weeks of effort by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.

Mowatt said that there are approximately 1,100 students attending Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS), and at least twice per week he will get a call about a student being harassed on Facebook. The issue has become so bad, that kids have even requested Mowatt as a friend on Facebook so he can better monitor his suspects.

"I am here to deal with the issues and work with students to teach them to resolve it," he said. "Kids will always have their differences."

Mowatt suggests that parents be more aware of what their child is doing on the Internet, or that kids delete their Facebook page if the problem worsens.

"When you are on Facebook, you are in a fish bowl," said Mowatt. "Everyone can see what you're doing ... . It's not here today, gone tomorrow. It's here forever."