Love it or hate it, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media tools to date. At first, it was a great way to see what ever happened to Susie Q from high school. Then, in the same vain as HS, it became a popularity contest, deeming the peeps with the most FB Friends- the popular kids. Quickly following suit, promoters jumped at the opportunity to solicit these faux crews to fill up has-been nightclubs. Not only were inboxes cluttered with promoter lame parties, but bogus friend requests from virtual strangers tested ones morals.

Why do I feel guilty for rejecting a friend request from someone I've never met? Do cyber friends equate real friends? How do you trust someone you've only chatted with in cyberland?

B.FB. (before Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace), chat rooms were the rage and breeding grounds for creeps. They patrolled chat rooms for some unsuspecting young thing, which led to a rash of heinous crimes of all measures. Becoming increasingly aware of the warnings and some intervention from legal authorities, chat rooms were shut down and MySpace was born. However, MS also fell prey to questionable solicitations and became more annoying then entertaining, and Tom was kicked to the curb.

Facebook seemed like a great solution based on accumulating friends from high school, college,or co-workers- creating a built in security... or is it a false sense of security and sincerity?

In addition to catching up with old friends, FB is a fantastic platform for promoting small businesses with it's Fan Pages and bringing attention to charities with it's Causes Pages. It's also been great when throwing a party. Yet,once again tainting a good thing, the creeps have crept their way into certain social circles.

Personally, I like to think I'm pretty street savvy and have a good amount of suspect when approached by cyber creeps. I've even staved off a few posers, thinking I was wise to their malice. I've had my fair share of people saying they were someone they weren't, that they were friends of friends they weren't, or that they met me at an event only to get me on their promoter list... But how do you know who's for real and who's not for sure?

I received some pretty disturbing news yesterday. A man with a rumored laundry list of criminal behavior across the pond and two cohorts, have been trolling a prevalent social set to facilitate fraudulent activity.

SUSPECTS: A man we will now refer to as "Y", and a group page- Society's Choice.

ALLEGED RAP SHEET: Y uses the Society Choice group as a front for his activities. He makes false claims such as; an elected committee, nominated the top 50 online persons with the most fascinating Facebook profiles, and that a "Philanthropic organization" merged with Society Choice. Their where no mergers, nor were there any real awards handed out. Y has actually been kicked off FB several times already for creepy actions.

No jail time or lawsuits against him were discovered, but the alleged charges span internationally from USA, London, and Switzerland:

Fraud
Domestic Assault
Attempted Rape
Apparently, he owes a lot of people and financial institutions money- this is hearsay.

MO: "Hi _____, X said it would be great for us to know each other. Let's meet up next week!" or something along those lines, when in fact that's not at all the case and X wouldn't vouch for them in any way.

WARNING: Y and some others have all been "mining" our friends and sending out messages to contacts worth knowing.They've been doing this with X's actual real friend's names as well, and it's a dangerous situation. The last thing anyone needs is to put their name on the line for someone they've never met or even they've met for a handful of minutes. The New York Satorialist (which is not affiliated with the real Satorialist) even did a positive write-up on these three just this past December.

Needless to say, we've all deleted this gang if we hadn't done so already. I suppose my advice is to remember- the type of behavior mentioned above (true or false) is a form of stalking and can be described by the law as "harassment". Keep on your toes and realize there is a vast difference from Facebook friends in cyber world and your real friends. Save your trust for the real world.

According to Internet Expert, Richard Brill, their is a solution to the problem.

If you feel you are a victim of Cyber Stalking or related online crimes then you should contact the Assistant Governors office of your State. In New York The AG is Andrew Cuomo's Office. Tell them what was done to you. The state now uses a computer software program called XWAVE which tracks activities of online predators.

When you use online personal sites such as Facebook, always confirm with your friends the person that is friending you and what their motives may be.

To reach the HOME - OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ANDREW M. CUOMO

Dial 311 or visit, http://www.oag.state.ny.us/

*The above information, alleged claims and accusations, derived from collective sources. To my knowledge, none of the legal accusations have been proved, they are rumors researched on the internet. Despite my odd personal interaction via FB with the aforementioned persons, SBS remains objective and accepts no responsibility for false accusations or alleged claims.

*image courtesy of Zimbio - Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe March 25, 2009

*image courtesy of Zimbio - Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images North America September 22, 2008 (Founding President of Facebook and co-founder of Napster and Plaxo Sean Parker, Harvard University Fellow Joe Trippi, and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow William Galston)

*image courtesy of Patana Wikispaces

Destination Bar was jammed packed with Holiday cheer and the real Socials of NYC for Obliterati: Holiday Spectacular sponsored by Citysearch and RandomNightOut. Nick McGlynn, founder of RNO and frequent guest photog extraordinaire for Scene B Seen, hosted the latest uber popular event with bells on... or at least a festive Santa hat.

FYI: Obliterati is a monthly event, held in NYC and focuses on new connections and networking between social circles in various media scenes. This event is specifically targeted toward old and new media, public relations and the web 2.0 crowd. It is designed to encourage networking between circles and promote mutually beneficial relationships which will help drive the industries as a whole forward.

The Holiday Spectacular collected two huge boxes full (approximately 200 cans) for the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, and over 50 attendees were entered into a drawing for prizes. The winners will be announced on the Citysearch Facebook page on Monday, Dec. 14th.

The evening also featured tequila drink specials thanks to Fidencio Mezcal and a special photo-booth from Leora Israel.

Then there were the Obliterati Awards:

Foster Kamer, winner of a 2009 Obliterati Award of Excellence for (as he would say) crushing it with a steady output of funny, insightful cultural and social commentary at BlackBook and Weekend Gawker.

John Carney, Vince Veneziani, Joe Weisenthal (also a co-winner for Fashism.com) and Erin Carlson, Obliterati Team of the Year, 2009, for their dazzling work in making Business Insider/Silicon Alley Insider/Clusterstock into a dominant voice in online business media.

Of course, I shall never forget the Gift Bags... designed by 80LB PRINT, complete with a semi mirrored Disco Ball affixed into the O of Obliterati, which I feel absolutely captures the essence of Nick's parties. Inside were goodies from Dentyne, Huckle Hill Press, Tickle Industries, Wine Library TV, and Media Management Marketing.

For the peeps behind all the social media widgets, apps, platforms, and gadgets, obvi their parties are rockalicious.

For Party Picts, please visit Random Night Out.

Our dear friend and birthday girl: Britten Heft, what isn’t there to say? She is thoughtful, loving, selfless, super sweet and is always there when you need anything.... She’s the new girl in town as Editor of Scene B Seen, covering who’s hot, what’s not, and where’s where in NYC and the Hamptons. Obviously, this society gal knows how to throw a party.

Last night it was time to truly be scene and be seen at the utterly jaw dropping Hudson Terrace Rooftop Lounge, for one of the best birthday parties to date. Guests included everyone from the most charming Heft family members to fabulous friends Stephanie and Jesse Newhouse, Jen Marden, designer extraordinaire Allison Parris, host and promoter Malik so Chic, Karen Biehl with cutie patutie Eli the Chihuahua- accompanied by magician Matt Wayne, and publicist queen Hillary Schupf, artist Jenny Belin… to name drop a few.

Whoever said you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too, should have made it to the beautiful bash! Cameras caught the many who stopped by- hugging, laughing, dancing and taking a bite of their very own little slice of delicious life, eh hem, I mean cake. Hey, we are New Yorkers; we know how to do that.

I finally stopped dancing to ask Britten why this Birthday was particularly special, she responded, "I left the east coast when I was 18 and spent the next dozen years moving around the west. I was trying to figure out how I fit in this world. I suppose I was searching, learning, and questioning so much, I forgot to just be. Now, I finally feel like I'm living- triumphs and tribulations." ...and may I add... Back in New York City- exactly where she belongs!

We need more big hearted “Britten’s” in this city, especially in times like these where some of our best organizations are getting hit hard by the lack of donations due to rising unemployment. Prior to the festivities the sensational guest of honor requested as her birthday wish, for those who were able, to donate a small amount to help out a great organization here in our beautiful city of New York: City Harvest.

It’s a small organization with a big feat. Day in and day out, City Harvest helps feed hungry men, women and children all around our city. They collect and deliver excess food to over 600 community food programs every week. Britten knows it is no tiny task to reach over 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their next meal.

With Britten's many generous and kind friends- such as Walt Freese, Chief Euphoria Officer of Ben & Jerry’s, and two donors she had never met before she made her wish, City Harvest is now able to help a few more people. Britten raised $555 in just two days via Causes on Facebook.

A huge thank you to Britten and all the unbelievably wonderful donors! Happy Birthday, Britten, we adore you!!!!

To see more party picts, click HERE and please visit: Guest of a Guest, Alan Barry Photography, and Marc Stamas Photography

*Photo 1 courtesy of Guest of a Guest by Ben Hider: Stephanie Newhouse, Britten Heft, and Jen Marden

*Photo 2 courtesy of Marc Stamas: Beau Thebault, Hillary Schupf, and Britten Heft

*Photo 3 courtesy of Marc Stamas: Britten Heft