How well do you know your Facebook friends? Are they really who you think they are? According to a recent article on CNN.com, maybe not.

Consider the following situation: After a couple hours of studying and doing homework, you find yourself taking what will probably be your fifth Facebook study break of the night. As you log on to see what’s new and chat with friends, something on your home page news feed catches your eye. A status update from one of your good friends from back home that reads: “Jack is in HUGE trouble … if you’re reading this please help!!!”

Naturally, after reading this status you become more curious as to what could have happened to your good friend Jack. So like everyone else, you click on Jack’s name, which takes you directly to his profile page. His wall is filled with concerned posts from friends, family, and coworkers, all wondering what happened to Jack.

Only a few hours after writing a similar short message on Jack’s wall asking him if he’s okay, you receive a message in your inbox from Jack explaining the situation.

You find out Jack had, out of the blue, decided to take a semester off of school to backpack through Europe. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving, he was mugged. His money, credit card and passport were all taken and he desperately needs help getting home.

Shocked, you think about how long you’ve been friends with Jack, and decide to help him get back home by sending him money to an address he gives you.

It would seem like a pretty heroic deed to most, right?

However, it turns out the real Jack is safe and sound, attending classes at his college — he had never left in the first place, and was completely unaware that his Facebook identity had been stolen, and his friends cheated out of their money.

According to CNN.com, a situation much like the one fashioned for this editorial actually happened to a man living in Seattle, Washington. And he’s not alone.

In another Facebook impersonation case, a Wisconsin man was recently arrested for posing as a woman on Facebook as a way to get high school boys to send him nude photos that he would later use to blackmail them in exchange for sex acts.

With the ever-increasing popularity of Facebook, and with more and more people considering Facebook as the standard for online social networking, cases of Facebook identity theft and impersonation are sprouting up everywhere.

As members of the Editorial Board, we want to send out a warning to not only those who use Facebook, but also to those who do not. As big of a liability it can be to have a Facebook account, it can now apparently be an even bigger liability to not have one, due to the possibility that someone might impersonate you.

So take note of our warnings. Be aware of the possibility that Facebook identity theft could happen to you or your friends, and take smart measures to prevent identity theft, much in the same way as you would in real life.

Choose strong, unique passwords to protect your information, occasionally reset your password, run anti-virus software on your computer, always keep personal information out of the hands and eyes of strangers, and most of all, don’t believe everything you read or see on Facebook.