Fake APD Twitter Account Shut Down

The old saying, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" may need to be updated to "On Twitter, everybody knows you're not a cop."

The attorney general's office shut down the Twitter account @AustinPD, saying the account was impersonating a police officer.

A screen shot shows that the account was created more than a year ago. There were no posts for nearly a year -- from March 10, 2008 to February 6, 2009 -- but authorities stepped in when the account began posting again this month.

The account, which used the City of Austin seal and a link to the official Austin police web site, built up more than 400 followers and featured fictitious updates on police activities, such as "leveraging the graph to predict outbreaks of crime. we're looking to make more stops at SXSW this year than last."

“Impersonating authorities and posting false information about law enforcement activities poses real problems for both peace officers and citizens who are unknowingly relying upon inaccurate facts,” said Attorney General Greg Abbott. “By working closely with the Austin Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office, we were able to prevent the site from continuing to publish fabricated information about official law enforcement activities.”