You never know who Facebook’s going to suggest you friend.
People with 45 mutual friends? A friend’s friend who you loathe?
Or how about this: that guy who pulled a knife on you and stole your car?
The BBC reports that a robber’s rip-offs have unravelled after he was spotted on the “people you may know” list by the victim of a car robbery in Birmingham, UK.
According to the BBC, Detective Constable Rhiannon Daff said the Facebook information was “a crucial part of the investigation” and “the final piece of the jigsaw.”
Omar Famuyide, a 21-year-old from Highgate, Birmingham, was jailed last week at the city’s Crown Court after a trial found him guilty of robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a firearm and possession of a knife.
The car robbery, it turns out, was only one of a string of crimes.
One of those crimes included forcing entry into a local business known as the Ambassador’s Relaxation Suite last July. Along with another man, Famuyide threatened women with a metal bar and a handgun, then fled empty-handed.
A month later, the robber stole a car from a man at knifepoint in Highgate.
The victim recognized Famuyide after Facebook suggested he might know him.
Facebook tries to be helpful by automatically scanning an assortment of data crunchables to fuel its Friend Finder function: mutual friends, work and education data, and imported contacts, be they from Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or what have you.
Helpful, and self-serving, useful as it is for growing the network and bolstering Facebook’s advertising market.
Back in January, Germany actually said “nein!” to all that, with the Federal Court of Justice ruling that Friend Finder constituted advertising harassment.
Famuyide coming up as a friend suggestion was reportedly just a coincidence. Heaven knows the odds of having a crook pop up in the suggestion list presented to one of his victims. It sure does help if the two live in the same neighborhood, of course.
He was given a jail sentence of 17 years.
Image of Facebook Friend Icon courtesy of dolphfyn / Shutterstock.com
agm65
I believe, based on the dynamics that I see, that Facebook will also suggest people who searched your name
baywolf88hotmailcom
Agree. Famuyide likely took a peek at the victims Facebook page sometime after the Robbery.
Billy Reuben
The Germans have made a big mistake. Friend Finder will soon be enhanced with new add-ons: Crime Aware (Facebook will be able to surmise from your behavior that you have been a victim of a crime), and Perp Finder (People who may have committed a crime against you recently). Oh, the possibilities!
Bryan
Hello Friend! According to our geolocational metadata, you and I were recently in the same darkened alley…let’s trade resources on Farmville!
Dave
@Billy Reuben’s post: Couldn’t decide whether or not there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek-ness there but, if true, Perp Finder could be helpful in finding the guy who stole several electronic gizmos from my motel room in SoCal last month (well into Grand Theft range for the camera & accessories alone) who, so far, The Laws have been unable to find despite several pieces of info he’d left online, including his phone number. BUT . . . . using it would no doubt require logging in to Farcebook and so making myself vulnerable to all the snooping that’s their stock in trade, so NO THANKS!