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Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?

By | December 16, 2008, 12:46pm PST

Summary: It’s bad enough that you have to watch out for stalkers, pedophiles and con artists on the Internet. Now, it seems lawyers and bill collectors might come looking for you on Facebook - and this time, the social networking site isn’t the one to blame. In Australia, an attorney who had been trying to catch up [...]

It’s bad enough that you have to watch out for stalkers, pedophiles and con artists on the Internet. Now, it seems lawyers and bill collectors might come looking for you on Facebook - and this time, the social networking site isn’t the one to blame.

In Australia, an attorney who had been trying to catch up with a couple that was in default on their mortgage was having no luck by showing up at the house or sending e-mails to serve the couple with legal papers. But when the lawyer found the public profiles of the couple on Facebook, he asked for permission to serve the couple with the paperwork via the site, according to a post on the Ars Technica blog.

The lawyer explained that the couple had listed their full names and birth dates on their public profile and were friends with each other on the site. The judge, obviously convinced that the lawyer had the right people, said he would consider the couple served on Facebook if the lawyer also left the papers at their last known residence and sent them via e-mail. The lawyer says the couple has been served, but the Associated Press reports in its own story that the couple’s profiles have since disappeared - either deleted or put into a private setting.

Note to self: be sure to set my Facebook profile to private before I default on any loans - or at least delete my birth date and unfriend my wife. (Sorry, honey!)

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Topics

Web, Facebook, Lawyer, Social Networking, E-mail, Mortgages, Online Communications, Marketing, Advertising & Promotion, Finance, Capital Structures, Sam Diaz

Sam has been a technology and business blogger for more than 18 years.

Disclosure

Sam Diaz

Sam Diaz has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Sam Diaz

Sam has been a technology and business blogger, reporter and editor at ZDNet, the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and Fresno Bee for more than 18 years. He's a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate of California State University, Fresno.

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The problem isn't even with posting that information
AzuMao 16th Jan 2009
The problem is being a criminal.

If you choose to do that, you are going to have to
hide, or get busted.
View in thread
0 Votes
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They will find you
Maarek 16th Dec 2008
You can run, but you can't hide. You're killing your self financially. Once you're older and can't work, then what?
0 Votes
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Second Life home
Zoli Erdos Updated - 16th Dec 2008
Fair game would be to lose their Second Life home on Facebook happy
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
Shuelin 17th Dec 2008
I'm finding Facebook really static these days, I wish
it was more customizable.
http://googlescloud.blogspot.com
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Just one easier, cheaper way to accomplish it
Rick_R 17th Dec 2008
I'm an attorney who has done debt collection by lawsuit in the past. If really necessary, a plaintiff can do service "by publication" in a newspaper. It requires a court order and even a court-appointed attorney to represent the defendant. But the bottom line is that it can be done and all the expenses ultimately wind up getting charged to the defendant. So this is a faster, cheaper and easier way, but it's not like they could have totally avoided the lawsuit otherwise.
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
NASW 17th Dec 2008
Watch what you put on your site, lie about some things!!
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It happened here in Canada too.
Arm A. Geddon 17th Dec 2008
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/11/30/7582506-sun.html
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
suemccartin 17th Dec 2008
This is baloney, if it doesn't get tossed on an appeal I'd be very surprised, I believe Austraila and Canada still the english common law system but I sure can't imagine any American court going for this; at least I hope not. Process service being served at an identifiable location by a licensed process server, I guess the lawyer qualifies at least under their system but you still don't truly have a good address to send notice too. Kinda unbelievable, but I guess we can expect this when employers are trying to use people's blogs and pictures on youtube etc. against them as justification for firings.
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
sandshark75 17th Dec 2008
Hm.. Well, don't default on your home loan... better yet, don't run from court papers. Gotta face the music sooner or later...
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
criss7cris@... 17th Dec 2008
The way the unemployment is these days your going to find a lot of people can not afford all thier bills any more. Just think about it if you had a job making 800.00 a week and you became jobless do you think your unemployment would cover your bills; no it will not. It will be very hard to find a job with that pay and minamum wage will not pay those bills either and most people work two and three jobs just to make it. A lot of people have to chose weather to buy food or pay 1/2 the rent and get food. Alot of people can not afford Christmas and it is very hard to face thier children so we all make due with what we have. When times are bad the oil men had to jack gas prices up so high many familes had to choose food or gas or some thing else. You would think when it is bad the cridet card company's would help by not adding the late charges; they have to add late charges and increase the percentage rates so you will never get out of the hole. So you must not be laid off and you have all the money you need so you don't understand what this is all about, so be carefull you just might find out just how hard it can get.
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
vaughanm 17th Dec 2008
well atleast it is better for you than tobacco, pot helps fight cancer and is good for a range of illnesses and it helps when you play games on the computer ^^
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
ryanlee05 17th Dec 2008
You know I find this VERY AMAZING people wanting to hide from their debts well they can't and I'm glad the couple in the story that had problems paying their loan should have just be paying it off and there would have been no problems people in this day and time REFUSE TO TAKE responsibility and when they happened to get found out they get scared THATS WHAT I think
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
speedy bill 17th Dec 2008
I dont know what to think, Iam very new on Facebook. I dont do anything to be worried about. I am just worried some idiot crook will try to
use my personal info in the wrong way. So I am
trying to learn how to make my profile private
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By
AzuMao 18th Dec 2008
Not putting your credit card number or social security
number on it? You know, just like you wouldn't give
this information away in real life? Duh..
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
george-barna@... 18th Dec 2008
You only have to worry if you're a sleaze! Serving them on Facebook was the last resort.
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RE: Facebook: Becoming your legal residence on the Web?
lostdesertgirl 18th Dec 2008
My fav was the couple who claimed to be "poor", however, they were sporting around in a 'grand prix' that was costing nearly $5K per year JUST for the lease. Not to mention the INSURANCE, etc. That sure isn't poor. And then any moron knows that when one person, let alone both, loses their jobs, you IMMEDIATELY (if ur responsible) turn in the car and go out and buy a $500.00 beater (don't tell me you can't do it, my son did it and we live in CT, most expensive place around). And then they said they didn't "hide" the car, but I know people that work for these companies and if ur not better at hiding the car than these guys are at finding the car, than lets face it, you are HIDING it pretting d*mn good! And the fiance' is carousing with the girl on the internet??? LOL. Well, and then the girlfriend is mad at the girl? Uh, gee, perhaps you better talk to YO man, cuz it's up to him to keep it in HIS pants. I don't feel one little bit sorry for these people. If you try to steal $11K worth of machine, ur gonna get burned!!!! and burned they got!
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Facebook, Hi5, Bebo...
Bang Bang ! 15th Jan 2009
it's all the same thing happening, and no blame on the administrators site.
it's no fault of them what people use or let's say, abuse...
in real life u face these kinda things too, so what's going good or bad because of facebook or any other social site ?? nothing.
all is happening by unconsciousness of the user
- Name: ??
- Location: ??
- WIFE'S NAME ?? haha, that was a joke

come on people... confidential and classified information, shouldn't be published in GENERALITY as for public and networks... so where's facebook's administrators problem, if the newly users of internet and computers are idiots and share private stuff with people they don't even know... and by newly i mean 3 to 5 years going backwards from now...
so they are worth the blame :S
it's not my problem if I put my hot gf's picture on my profile and your son goes grabbing every neighbors girls ass... !!
however, I still apologize for the inconvenience =)

Greetings all,
Nagib.
0 Votes
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The problem isn't even with posting that information
AzuMao 16th Jan 2009
The problem is being a criminal.

If you choose to do that, you are going to have to
hide, or get busted.

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