A new Facebook scam is plaguing sororities.
Jill Moore, associate director of Greek life, said people with fake profiles have been contacting new sorority members, posing as recent alumnae and demanding personal information and video-chat sessions as part of a "secret initiation."
"They will say, 'If you look at this Facebook profile, you aren't going to be able to tell much about me, but that's on purpose because I am a recent alumni of your organization, and I am going to show you some other secret things,'" Moore said. "Usually they will communicate through Facebook messages, and then they move to Facebook chat. If it goes past there, they will move on to Skype."
The profiles have featured misleading photos stolen from other people's actual accounts and have included names like Lexi Hillbrenner, Marrissa Thompson, Heather Dawson and Morgan Lowell.
While it is not known who is behind the scam, Moore said there is no indication that it is anyone associated with Auburn University.
Once a fake profile is detected, the names are submitted to Facebook, which then handles the deletion of the account.
While no Auburn students have yet fallen victim to the scam, Moore said every sorority on campus has had some type of contact through these fake profiles.
"I don't know of anyone at Auburn that has gone through with it, but I know people at Auburn that have been asked to take their clothes off, but have not," Moore said. "It was something that was happening at other places before it happened here, so we were able to be a little more insulated against and get the word out."
The scam, which is a problem for sororities across the country, has talked students out of everything from personal information, bank account information and class schedules, as well as asking for private video-chat sessions.
In response, as soon as a member reports a contact from a fake profile, the sorority president communicates with all the other presidents and the Panhellenic Council to warn new members to block that account.
In addition, new members were warned about the scam through e-mail, and it was addressed at the Panhellenic Convocation.
"We sent out information to every chapter president and said, 'Go over this with your members,'" Moore said. "Sorority headquarters are aware of this, so each sorority has worked on a headquarters-down approach, so every member knows about this."
Blakeley Sisk, president of Delta Delta Delta, said her sorority has only been contacted once, and response was immediate.
"We were concerned, so we told our girls not to respond, that it was being taken care of and that our girls are safe," Sisk said.
She reported the incident to the National Panhellenic Council and was assured by the council that member safety was the No. 1 priority.
Moore said the main thing new members, and everyone in general, need to know is that these profiles are not associated with a sorority.
"When you join a sorority, they don't haze," Moore said. "They don't add in anything that they don't tell you about. In the beginning, they give you a calendar, and they outline the expectations. So if it is not outlined in your expectations or in the calendar, then it is not something that you can be expected to do."
Moore said the best defense is to just be careful about what students put online.
"Obviously, with this as with anything, if someone tries to friend you and you don't know them, don't friend them," Moore said. "If somebody tries to communicate with you and you don't know them, don't communicate back. At the very least, be careful about what you say and about what is on your profile that just anyone can see."
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