Facebook helps catch suspected criminal

Social networking sites can be great to tell your friends what you're up to. But US authorities couldn't believe their luck when someone suspected of fraud let them know where he was - through Facebook!

When Maxi Sopo, from Cameroon, became a suspect of bank fraud he left the US and went to Mexico. From there, he began posting messages on Facebook about how he was enjoying life on the run in the city of Cancun. He even accepted a friend request from a former official of the US justice department! "Mr Sopo was making posts about how beautiful life is and how he was having a good time with his buddies," attorney Michael Scoville told the BBC.

But he probably isn't enjoying life any longer - the authorities used Facebook to find out where Sopo was living in Cancun and promptly took him to Mexico City - to jail!