Internet imposters.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

Maryland Delegate Chris Shank has two Facebook pages--his own and another one that a fan set up. Since he has no control over that one, it caused him some concern. "There's some inherent risk, but we'll see how it goes," Shank says. At least it was a supporter who set up the second page.

On the other hand, the Connecticut Republican Party set up Web pages for every member of the House Democratic caucus, all with similar Web addresses using the Democrats' real names. The pages have prominent headlines like "Raising Your Taxes," but there is a notice at the bottom of the page saying they are paid for and authorized by the Connecticut Republican Party. The GOP also set up parody Twitter accounts in the Democrats' names, but they were shut down for violating the company's terms of service agreement.

Another kind of Internet impersonator pretends to be a Facebook friend who asks for money after claiming to have lost cash, credit cards or a passport while traveling. Or there is the Wisconsin man who posed as a woman on Facebook to get high school boys to send him nude photos that he later used for blackmail.

Three states have passed laws specifically targeting Internet or online impersonation. In Hawaii, anyone who uses personal information to pose electronically as someone else without their permission is guilty of a misdemeanor.

In New York, impersonating someone is also a misdemeanor, if done to benefit from the site or to injure or defraud another. It's also against the law to pretend to...