Facebook Photo ends on porn, dating sites

Housewife Jules Rahim was shocked when a friend tipped her that her picture was featured on a pornographic website.

That was not the only unauthorized use of the picture of her in a bikini, which she had posted on her Facebook account three years ago.

Another friend told her that the photo had also came on a dating site called sgGirls.com. It was accompanied by a caption that a phone number to call and how much it cost to chat.

"It is embarrassing," said the mother of four children, aged one to 10. "The people I know can think falsely of me."

Rahim, 32, has two reports-one about the porn site and the other on the dating site.

The Straits Times understands that at least two other Singaporean women also have discovered that their Facebook photos on these two websites have surfaced.

The three are victims of what is known as ' photo-jacking '-the Act of stealing pictures from social media such as Facebook and Twitter and exploit them for use on, say, porn sites.

Earlier this year, there were messages in the United States and New Zealand on Facebook photos of teenagers and children, who are also on porn portals had ended.

Rahim also wants a magistrate complaint with the underlying dishes for deliberate harassment.

"I want to sue them. These websites have no right to use my photos without my permission, "said Rahim, who is married to an assistant-manager employed at one of the integrated resorts here.

Police said they are investigating but not by press time could confirm if this is the first such complaint is that they have received. The other two victims of the Singaporean could not be contacted as she travels.

Lawyer Bryan Tan, a Director of Keystone law Corp, said that the victims have the right to demand that the sites to remove their photos. But it is difficult to enforce laws of Singapore on overseas-based operators.

sgGirls.com is hosted in Düsseldorf in Germany, while the other portal is based in Los Angeles, United States. Rahim has contacted sgGirls.com , but has yet to hear from the operator. She has no contact information for the other portal.

It is also unclear if the websites or any third party-presumably a Facebook "friend" of the victims-the pictures actually had formatted. If it is the last, the victims take slander here against the third party. But the problem of detecting the perpetrator-that not even the person who he or she claims to be-remains, Tan said.

In the light of these difficulties, safety and social media experts advise netizens privacy options set at the highest levels. "Limit access to your personal messages to people you know and trust," said David Hall, Asia-Pacific product marketing manager for security software maker Norton. ' No add people to your list of trusted unless you know exactly who they are. '

This is because online thieves can create a fake profile and pretend to be an existing friend asking to be "added".

Once the application is accepted, the person access to all photos in the target social network sharing.

Hence, even change someones privacy settings to allow only friends to access someone's personal information and photos may not be enough, said Hall.

Assistant Professor Giorgos Cheliotis of the National University of Singapore Ministry of communications and new media said netizens should think twice before posting photos. ' Even a seemingly innocent picture can take on a new, more insidious character as it is posted on a site with adult content, "he said.

Rahim, who said her photo was taken just after she had her second child, agrees. "It was taken after I had a dip in the outdoor swimming pool for relaxation. I'm angry something casual and normal has taken and used in the wrong context. "