Is there a major security breach in Facebook’s mutual friending system? An article over at Loose Wire indicates that an engineering loophole has rendered it possible for someone to add another Facebook user to their friend list without mutual consent. Facebook’s mutual friending system can get a little tricky at times, but this particular fluke could be worrisome.

When Jeremy of Loose Wire received a Facebook invite in his email inbox from someone he didn’t know, he was perplexed, since he’s already a Facebook member. But he clicked on the invite link, which directed him to the regular Facebook login page. After logging in, he didn’t see any more information on the person that had sent him the Facebook invite. Jeremy then Googled the invitee’s name and found that he was already on this person’s friends list.
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It’s a story that we hear more often than we should. A young teen meets someone online and soon finds out he’s not the man she thought he was. In this case, a 16 year-old girl from Clinton Township in Michigan was raped by a man she met on Facebook, according to a report in the Detroit News. The man, who’s real name is Michael Thomas Robinson, is an 18 year-old member of he Facebook community, creating a profile under the name of Michael Jones.

After befriending him online via Facebook, the girl greed to let Robinson come over her house once, but refused to let him in for a return visit on December 4. Not taking no for an answer, Robinson proceeded to sneak into the house through a basement window, went upstairs and raped the Clinton Township girl, according to the police report. The Detroit News article goes on to report that the rape was interrupted by the girl’s grandmother returning home, causing Robinson to flee the premise. The girl’s grandmother immediately called the police, who were then unable to track Robinson with the K-9 unit. However, Robinson was later arrested at his home on Wednesday.
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