Timothy Noirjean, of Woodbury, Minnesota, was charged with identity theft after allegedly hacking into women’s Facebook accounts, in February and March of 2010, in order to steal photos which he subsequently posted on porn sites. The computer hacker apparently pilfered photos of thirteen women ranging in age from seventeen to twenty-five. Police also discovered over 200 other women’s email addresses and security information, along with additional folders containing women’s names and pictures. Unfortunately, authorities said they’re unable to remove the stolen images from the various sites.
A few ways you can protect yourself is to set your privacy settings on Facebook so that only your friends can view your site, hide your email address and any other personal information that someone could use in identity theft, don’t friend anyone you don’t know, and install computer tracking software. This software is fairly inexpensive and helps you monitor who has been using your computer. Even if you aren’t computer savvy enough to understand how to interpret the results of the software, it will be helpful information if you should ever need to track down a computer hacker who has accessed your computer.
Prosecutors say that Noirjean would befriend women online and fool them into providing personal information that he could then use to hack their Facebook, email and other accounts. He would then in turn pretend to be the owner and gain access to the accounts of that person’s friends. After police tracked down the perpetrator, in his parent’s basement, where he confessed to the crime, he claimed to be unaware that he was doing anything wrong.
While the report doesn’t specify how Noirjean got the women to spill the answers to their security questions, one might speculate he found ways to work mom’s maiden name, first pet and the street the victim grew up on into the conversation.
The woman who filed the original report told police “she unwittingly disclosed the information while exchanging messages with the person she thought was her friend,” reports the Star. “When investigators questioned the friend, she said that passwords to her Facebook and e-mail accounts had been changed without her knowledge the previous day.”
Investigators found 92 folders on his computer containing names or photos of women, as well as 235 email addresses with security information. Noirjean confessed to accessing more than 100 Facebook accounts and told police he was unaware that it’s a crime.
Noirjean is scheduled to appear in court on May 26.
