Facebook's West Texas Confessions a Not-So-Smart Criminal Outlet

West Texas Confessions is a Facebook page based out of Odessa that has stirred up drama since Dec. 29, 2014. It's a forum where people can submit a post anonymously through an online form to express themselves or reveal their secrets. These secrets range anywhere from affairs to thievery. Although these lawbreakers' posts are stated to be anonymous if submitted through this form, the comments made to each of the initial posts are not.

Because these not-so-smart confessors think they're posts are anonymous, they let loose. Here are some examples of some of the more recent posts:

"I have a wife and we have kids not together, but kids from previous marriages," said one confessor on Dec. 10 at 6:55 p.m. "For some reason, I can't stop talking to other women. Women I know and have known from like high school and stuff or work. I love the attention they give me. Not saying my wife doesn't give me attention or care about me. I just love the thrill of talking to these women. I'm afraid I'm going to get busted someday."

On Dec. 6 at 1 p.m., Seasonal Thieves working the I-20 corridor from Abilene to Odessa said, "I don't know why you people continue to buy expensive things for Christmas and then don't take the time and effort to adequately secure your home. We've hit 6 houses over the past few days and not once have we had an alarm go off or an alert awake person confront us. We had one big dog try to bite in Abilene but I pepper sprayed it. It's literally like taking candy from a baby." 

Another poster on Dec. 8 at 1:15 p.m. wrote, "Ever since I saw this site from the guy robbing people's houses. I am just so into it. It's pretty cool. I get to let It all out and nobody know who I am. Plus Advice!!! Thanks Kim! You're welcome. – Kim."

In addition to Facebook, people with Tumblr and Twitter accounts can follow West Texas Confessions and find posts with more graphic photos. In fact, The creator, Kim, told followers on Dec. 8 at 12:23 p.m. "If you submitted a confession and you don't see it, it means it's too hot for Facebook. Check the Tumblr.”

Overall, West Texas Confessions generally covers the West Texas region, Midland/Odessa area but is steadily branching outwards. However, with the unlimited content of this page and some confessing crimes, the question remains: is the anonymous form submitted through Facebook’s West Texas Confessions truly 100% anonymous?

The Administrator of West Texas Confessions stated that "yes" the form is 100% anonymous on Dec. 7 at 10:07 a.m.

“Ok, I'm going to go ahead and address the elephant in the room," Kim wrote. "I've gotten so many messages regarding the 'professional thief' posts and me turning in any information that I have on this person to the authorities. I wouldn't have any information to share with them if they asked and that's me being cooperative. The confession form by its very nature and design does not capture any identifiable information that the user does not provide willingly. So in a nutshell, I don't know anything about this person. I don't know if they're real or trolling for attention. They most certainly have caused me some unwanted attention and I'm willing to help in anyway that I can but there's just not much if anything that I can do on my end.”

In San Angelo, Chief Tim Vasquez said he has not heard of West Texas Confessions personally, but he's sure the San Angelo Police Department's Intelligence Division is aware of the site. 

"We all know criminals are not smart," Vasquez said. "That's a plus for us. It's probably a site that we monitor. Believe it or not, we solve a lot of stuff through Facebook."

As for the information being anonymous, Vasquez said that's not true.

"We can find out what we need to find out," the chief said. "IP addresses can be traced, and through a judge subpoena, we can pretty much get whatever we need to get, or what the judge orders her to, or she can be held in contempt of court."

IP addresses can be located, whether it is a router IP address (LAN IP), WAN IP address, or even a hostname as every time someone visits a website the IP is logged. Small clues are left all over the internet about our lives like fingerprints. Authorities have the jurisdiction to request private data directly from social networks with subpoenas or warrants, or make emergency requests for user information if they believe there is an imminent threat of danger.

However, law enforcement seeking access to private information on Facebook must go through the official channels and each social media network has established a set policy for how it turns over the requested data. Most entities do require a subpoena or a warrant, depending on the type of details requested and how long it has been posted to the site.

When posts are written on Facebook, or any other social media site, the expectation of privacy has ended as those posts can be utilized by others on that page or ‘friends’ to use the information however they see fit – including sharing it with government officials.

Leveraging social media like Facebook is one of many ways law enforcement are gaining evidence to help them solve crimes. They will look at the public information, often times create fake online profiles to befriend suspects and view their private information.

A survey performed by LexisNexis Risk Solutions stated that out of 1,221 federal, state, and local law enforcement who utilize social media showed that Facebook is the most profitable social network. About 87% of search warrants utilizing social media to establish probable cause hold up in court.

The online world is just like that of the real world. If friends and family can report and inform on someone to the police and detectives can go undercover to catch someone in the act, this also applies to the world of social media. Users no longer have the Fourth Amendment protection rights when their information is stowed with a third party like Facebook in this manner.