Connecticut Attorney General Investigates Facebook Fraud

FILE - In this May, 26, 2010 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about the social network site's new privacy settings in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP)

Connecticut's top lawyer wants Facebook to reveal how it detects and disables fake accounts after a state lawmaker complained that her identity was misused in a scam to solicit money from her friends.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said Monday that Rep. Kim Rose alleged that Facebook did not respond quickly to take down the site after repeated complaints that her name and photographs were being used without her permission.

Jepsen wrote a letter to Facebook Monday saying his office would investigate.

He asked Facebook tell his office the number of complaints over hacked accounts it had received over the last 18 months, how it responds to complaints and safeguards against hacked accounts. Facebook has until Tuesday to respond.

"My hope is to work cooperatively with Facebook to ensure that its users in Connecticut and elsewhere are provided adequate security and receive quick and effective responses when security breaches occur," Jepsen said in a statement.

A Facebook spokesperson says the company takes security very seriously and devotes significant resources to protecting users from spam and scams.

In an e-mail to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook said its company's policy on such situations includes developing "complex technical systems to flag and block suspicious behavior, including the creation of phony accounts," as well as "providing easy reporting channels for people to let us know when something is wrong, and educating people on how to protect themselves."

Rose said she's "pleased" that Jepsen is investigating.

"I'm hopeful this action will help to protect other consumers from identity theft in the future," she said in a statement.