Facebook hacking prevalent locally

By Sean Previl

Locals are being warned about their Facebook usage after a girl’s page was hacked.

The Windsor Police Service are cautioning Facebook users about logging in on public computers and around friends after a girl’s page was hacked in 2012 and used to harm her reputation.

Sgt. Paul Jean of the WPS said the girl was harmed in a variety of ways.

“There’s emotion, she did indicate that her family was stressed, (and) it affected her job,” said Jean.

According to a media release by the WPS the girl, who is not identified by police, lost her job briefly “because of the content observed on the Facebook page.” She has since been rehired after investigators spoke with her employer, according to the release.

Jean said he believes the content on the victim’s page has not yet been erased due to the process Facebook currently has in place about removing items.

“Facebook has to first be contacted to identify our reports and our findings before they’ll take it off,” said Jean.

Public information officer Sgt. Matt D’Asti said the person who hacked the user’s page used personal images to commit the crimes.

“These are images that you and I would share on our own social media sites,” said D’Asti. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary, what is out of the ordinary is the language that was being used with the postings. So pictures of her with her friends at the beach became something more than that.”

D’Asti said false information posted by the hacker included a secondary occupation as a dancer at an adult club and a prostitute for hire.

Wayne Barry of Windsor has been charged with four counts of mischief, as well as obtaining identify information with inference a fraudulent offence intended, fraudulently obtaining computer service, and publishing defamatory libel known to be false. Barry has been released from police service under order to appear in court.