Facebook Helps Find Kidnapped Son -- After 27 Years
While we do talk a lot about the dangers of Facebook, how it can alienate us from our fellow humans and cause overdoses of information (and the occasional stalker), every now and then a remarkable story about the power of connectivity crosses our desks. Twenty seven years ago, when British mother Avril Grube's ex-husband said he was taking their three-year-old son Gavin for a day trip, he instead headed back to his home country of Hungary without permission, never to be heard from. Until recently, that is, when Grube's sister stumbled upon Gavin's Facebook profile, nearly three decades since he disappeared from her life.
Despite having contacted the Hungarian embassy and the British government, Grube was never able to involve authorities and had spent years hunting her missing child. Gavin, now 29, and his mother recently reunited, despite their speaking two different languages and living countries apart.
Though it caused the global financial crisis and steals your money, we guess Facebook really does do some good. [From: BBC]
Facebook Crime and Punishment
Blackmail
Sending any personal info or incriminating pictures to someone on Facebook is a huge mistake for many reasons. One of the worst possible outcomes is getting blackmailed for money, sex, or, well, anything these sickos dream up. Really, whether they're using a fake profile or not, it's a horrible idea. Read up on the story of an 18-year-old who blackmailed 31 male classmates after he posed as a girl and asked for nude pictures. That's lesson enough.
Impostors
Sure, it can be harmless to impersonate a celeb online or create a fake profile for a movie character. But seriously, there's a definite line you shouldn't cross when pretending to be someone else and it can lead to dire consequences for you. Maybe it's not as extreme as the Moroccan man who was jailed for 43 days after creating a fake Facebook profile of a prince, but you never know. Just steer clear of it.
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
Suicide
Social networking sites has been blamed for a lot of things, fairly and unfairly, but in our opinion, the worst offense has been their indirect involvement in suicides. Obviously, there are a lot of factors responsible in each case, but there does seem to be links between social networking and a rash of suicides, and obviously tehre's the case tragic of Megan Meier, who killed herself after a classmate's mom impersonated a teen boy and harassed her over Myspace.
Murder
We've reported on numerous incidents of people getting in trouble because of their online behavior. Now, people are becoming victims because of what they're doing on the Web too. In England, a man was convicted of murdering his estranged wife after she changed her relationship status to "single." So, be careful of who can see your profile and what you're doing, no matter how harmless it seems.
Nigerian Scammers
Oh, you thought this only happened via poorly worded emails, right? WRONG. Once people got wise to their old ways, these con men are turning to social networking sites for new targets. This time, they're hacking into people's accounts and impersonating them to ask for money, usually with some weird sob story. You can check out a transcript of one of these conversations here.
Cooperation
Even if the law isn't on a case, a victim, his friends, or empathetic strangers might be. Since it's easy to get word out for anything online, people are using blogs, forums, and social networking sites to help track down criminals. In one such case, a vehicle thief was tracked down by a bunch of anonymous car enthusiasts after the victim posted his story on a forum. In the end, they identified the guy through his Facebook profile.
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lonnie said 9:55PM on 5-29-2009
at least there back together god bless.
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Linda Beeson said 10:33PM on 5-29-2009
Who the hell is Emma Watson, anyway? And, who the hell should care?
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laiconna said 1:14AM on 5-30-2009
Emma Watson is just a weblink they want people to click on so that they will end up on a porn website that may even have viruses. It's dangerous to click on links people post about nudes etc. They're usually baaaaad.
Mary said 11:29PM on 5-29-2009
Wow! Now if this isn't something remarkable! This story made my day and warmed my heart. God bless them both.
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Jade said 11:41PM on 5-29-2009
I just love these types of stories. Great reading for the heart...
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RedMan said 12:36PM on 5-30-2009
The mother was excluded from her son's life from age 3 until he was a young adult at age 29. A huge part of the life of each of these individuals was simply stolen - the father is an reprehensible criminal, a thief of hearts, a thief of childhood and a thief of motherhood. Despite the reunion, it will never be possible to make up for what has been lost or taken from these people.
So often a child in the custody of a father is an orphan... -- yes, I know there are many exceptions though I doubt a man who steals a child away would have the character to live the role as the exceptional parent.
It is good that the mother and son discovered one another but what a twisted thing to do to a child.
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Jacki said 5:51PM on 6-25-2009
Actually just because one parent takes a child away from the other parent, does not mean the first parent can not be an exceptional parent. It could be that the other parent was threatening similar action and it was a preemptive strike. I know a situation where that happened. The child was taken by one parent and age 2 and found again at age 4. The parent that took the child, taught the child about the other parent's relatives and made sure the child knew all the good things about the other parent as well. Yes, the other parent was put through hell trying to locate the child but given what is known now, 38 years later, I think the parent who took the child was probably the better parent.
lilyiya said 6:21PM on 5-30-2009
Isn't Emma Watson that chick from Spidermannnn ? :DD Anywayy, this story made my dayy. (:
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Justin said 9:45PM on 5-30-2009
Just so you all know, Emma Watson is Hermione from the Harry Potter movies.
Anyway, i'm happy for the family.
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