Case Study: Nafeesa's Cyber Impersonator

Amanda Patterson - Activity 2

This case comes from “Newark Teen’s Online Identity Stolen and Used to Destroy Her Reputation”

Retrieved from: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/someone\_had\_stolen\_a\_newark\_te.html

**Case Study: Nafeesa’s Cyber Impersonator**

Nafeesa Onque’s Facebook page had all the characteristics of a teenager’s social media page: her relationship status, photo albums, cell phone number, birthday, favorite books and movies—all typed up neatly, including a photo of the 15-year-old sophomore in high school. However, the person who created the fake profile was an impersonator. This person stole Nafeesa’s online identity and used it to try to destroy her life.

For nearly three years, a cyber bully stalked Nafeesa, hounding the girl and her friends on Facebook. Nafeesa’s mother intervened and worked tirelessly to end the nightmare by reaching out to school officials, Facebook, and Newark, New Jersey police. Every time the family managed to get a profile page deleted, another fake one would be back up within days. The bully used varying online identities and sent "friend" requests to groups of Newark teens as well as Nafeesa’s family members on Facebook. After accepting a friend request from the impersonator, Nafeesa’s friends found their Facebook walls and inboxes suddenly full of sexually explicit comments, threats and profanity. One student became so enraged from the messages that she physically attacked Nafeesa outside of school.

Nafeesa says she was terrified. Her fellow students, friends, family, and even strangers would ask her why she was sending hateful messages to them. She began to withdraw from her circle of friends and even family. When she would normally have been out at school functions or hanging with friends on the weekends, she’d stay home instead.

As months passed, the bullying became more personal, and far more disturbing. The cyber bully started posting extremely inappropriate and embarrassing status updates.  Friends and family members said the imposter would repeatedly flirt with strange men and proposition them.

Things came to a head when another teenage girl attacked Nafeesa in a schoolyard after the impostor challenged her to a fight through a Facebook message. Nafeesa's mother filed a report with Newark police the same day. The mother provided the State Police with records detailing the abuse on Facebook. After some time bouncing around in the system, the family connected with someone who could help.  On recommendation from the FBI Newark field office, she met with New Jersey State Police Sgt. Chuck Allen.  Allen, who had worked 10 years in the State Police’s Digital Tech Investigations Unit, said his office handles around 500 complaints of cyber-bullying per year.  He said only a dozen or so become classified as a true criminal act. But when he received a call about Nafeesa’s case, it stood out to him based on the fact that a girl was physically assaulted because of lies and harassment posted on the internet under her identity.

Allen and his team poured over records of the attacks and dozens of social media profiles looking for the impersonator’s IP address which would reveal the bully’s online identity. Two months later, they had the name and address of the imposter. The IP address led police to a home near Nafeesa’s  family’s townhouse complex.  Authorities confirmed the cyber bully was a 15-year-old girl Nafeesa had suspected all along. She and the imposter had stopped hanging around together a few months before the abuse began.

New Jersey State Police arrested the alleged bully and charged her with wrongful impersonation. The suspect’s identity was withheld due to her age.

After years of cyber bullying the impostor was finally caught, but Nafeesa’s personal nightmare and the family’s exhaustive attempts to resolve the situation point to the challenges facing law enforcement as cyber-bullying increases.

### Action Steps:

Brittany Payne

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### **Anti Cyber Bullying Strategies**

Keep home computer(s) in easily viewable places, such as the family room or kitchen.

Talk regularly with children about their online activities and Internet etiquette in general.

Talk specifically about cyber bullying and encourage children to notify adults immediately if they become victims of cyber bullying.

Tell children that you may review their online communications if there is any reason for concern.

Help children understand that cyber bullying is harmful and unacceptable behavior.

Emphasize expectations for responsible online behavior and make clear the consequences for violations of

Internet etiquette.

Consider establishing a parent–child Internet use contract.

Beware of warning signs that might indicate the child is being bullied, such as reluctance to use the computer, a change in the child’s behavior and mood, and/or reluctance to go to school.

Consider installing parental control filtering software and/or tracking programs, but do not rely solely on these tools.

Encourage anti bullying legislation and Internet safety policies at the state, local, and district levels. Many states have enacted anti bullying laws that address all forms of bullying in schools. Further, some school districts have instituted computer use rules and protocols.

**The Role of Teachers in Confronting Cyber Bullying**

Conduct a cyber bullying needs assessment to identify the incidence of cyber bullying in the school, including where it occurs and any factors that discourage reporting. This might involve creating a survey and distributing it to teachers, administrators, and parents. The results can be analyzed and used to pinpoint areas of concern. It might also be a good idea to conduct a structured interview with the principal to obtain more information about the school’s needs and the principal’s goals with regard to cyber bullying.

Make a plan to implement a threat assessment for any report of cyber bullying that raises concerns about the possibility of violence or suicide.

Include cyber bullying in the school’s comprehensive Anti bullying program to educate students and ensure that all personnel respond appropriately when cyber bullying is reported. Review written policies related to students’ use of the Internet and mobile communication devices to ensure that they address on-campus cyber bullying. Also review the district’s Internet use policies to ensure effective student supervision and monitoring.

Provide colleagues, parents, students, and community members with information about preventing and responding to cyber bullying. Faculty and staff should also be trained in early warning signs that may identify victims of cyber bullying, including rejection or isolation from peers and being the focus of more traditional forms of bullying. Be adamant about looking for the circulation of pictures, video clips, sound files, and any other items used to ridicule and defame students’ characters

Retrieved From: http://www.nasponline.org/resources/bullying/cyberbullying.pdf