USA Today is reporting on a number of false polices sites that have been posted on MySpace in an effort to mock and defame law enforcement agencies.
From the article —
A new police tool on the Internet has prompted hoax sites on MySpace.com, and the popular networking site is shutting them down.
At least 16 police or sheriffs’ departments appeared to have profile pages on MySpace to seek investigative tips or deter predators, but USA TODAY found that at least six were fakes.
A page that claimed to represent the New York Police Department had racy photos. Another that said it was the Fairfax County Police in Virginia said officers loved donuts and coffee. Officials in both departments said they did not set up the pages and did not know who did.
Asked about those profiles last week, MySpace.com closed them. It also closed pages claiming to represent New Jersey State Police and the Coral Gables Police Department in Florida. Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace’s chief security officer, says the site is investigating six more profiles that look like police department pages.
“We want law enforcement present on our site, but we don’t want people violating our members’ trust,” says Nigam. He says in the physical world, people recognize police by their uniforms. On its site, however, MySpace needs to verify which are legitimate, Nigam says.