Warning: selling sex on Facebook could get you sued

Facebook goes after spammer who posted links to fake Justin Beiber sex tape

Ah, the celebrity sex tape. Entire reality show careers have been cultivated out of them. People have become infamous just from letting the world see them do... well, what the world should probably have never been able to see them do.

Let's be honest here: how many people know that Tommy Lee was the drummer for Mötley Crüe? How many people even know that a band named Mötley Crüe ever existed? But I bet you anything they know about his tape with Pamela Anderson.

So, as far as scams go, promising a sex tape from a celebrity is pretty much gold. Make it one of the biggest, most famous, music artists out there right now, and it is money in the bank. People will click on that link.

It’s a very sleazy, but likely effective, way to make money. Just don't involve Facebook in any of this. The social network definitely does not appreciate being the middleman in these kinds of shenanigans.

So now Facebook is suing a spammer named Christopher Peter Tarquini who allegedly did just that: he inundated Facebook with links to a fake sex tape involving Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, according to a report from the BBC. 

The company is alleging that Tarquini put up the links to the fake video in order to redirected those people to websites that then paid him for hits.

By clicking the link, users would be asked for access to their Facebook account. If that somehow was not a giant red flag for that users, they would actually agree to this, and the app would, of course, take control of their account and start sending the video to their friends. 

Tarquini was reportedly notified that he was violating Facebook's terms. His account was shut down, and he was even told to stop using Facebook altogether. This, as you might imagine, did not exactly deter him from continuing the scam. 

Facebook even says that it has a confession from Tarquini, in which he admitted to the company that he had written the program that took over accounts and posted the fake links.

And now Facebook wants to be reimbursed for the damage allegedly done by Tarquini's scame. They are seeing to be reimbursed for the money spent having to not only clean up the site in his wake, but also the money that was spent having to track him down. 

The damages that Facebook is seeking are apparently very low, only $5,000, according to Courthouse News. The site also wants to permanently ban Tarquini from using the site.

This is not even the first time that the site has sued spammers for similar actions. As the BBC noted, Facebook won $711 million in a lawsuit against spammer Sanford Wallace in 2009, and won a $3 million settlement against a spam company in September.

Some may wonder why a multi-billion dollar company like Facebook would bother suing a man for a mere $5,000. After all, that is pocket change to them. But I think that the company is trying to send a message to other people who would try to use the site for their money-making schemes.

They have to be hoping that it rings loud and clear to anyone else who wants to all the other spammers out there: Facebook will go after you. The company will find you and it will take legal action against you.

Honestly, though, I doubt that this will deter future spammers from trying to leverage Facebook's over one billion users in their schemes. The sheer number of people who will potentially click that link, I have to believe, is too enticing to pass up.

A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

(Image source: https://spilledonthekitchentable.blogspot.com)