Here is a great article in the Washington Post on the creation of fake Twitter accounts and the impersonation of team members.

The Internet has brought us some wonderful advancements and now some NOT SO wonderful things. This kind of identity theft will get someone into trouble - the fan or the player – and it is just a matter of time.

I know that once on the Capitals Insider blog someone starting to post comments in my name and they created quite a stir. Fortunately the Washington Post realized what was happening and pulled down the comments section. I don’t believe that they suspended the offending reader though. It is pretty easy on a blog or message board to impersonate someone else, isn’t it? I have had people impersonate my email address. Some go to the message boards on our website and post as me. Someone even tried to cash a check once in a local bank as me. That one floored me. It made me laugh and the individual was caught on security cameras. Can you believe that? Another time, someone called a radio station saying they were me and wanted to be interviewed – live – on air.

Facebook and Twitter are wonderful new communications vehicles but this kind of fake account posting is not what was intended. It is not good “netiquette” and shows little empathy to the player or our franchise.

I understand the draw of being funny, ironic and witty but at some point fun will turn into mischief and someone will get burned. It is just a matter of time.

I do support our players opening and managing their own accounts on Facebook and on Twitter. I am very active on both services and I enjoy the interaction. It is buyer beware time though now. It is very difficult now to identify the real person vs. the “fake” person so be careful what you read. Someone’s tweets may not be what you think. Thank you and stay classy.