ID theft on Twitter

Oldsmar, Florida -- Do you have an account on Twitter? Oldsmar businessman Michael Pinson didn't think he did until he found out last week that someone had already set one up under his name.

"The internet has been like the wild, wild west. People think they can do and say anything they want to and even commit crimes" Pinson told 10 Connects.

Police say this kind of identity theft is a third degree felony and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

"It's very serious" Tampa Police Detective Lela Davis said.

Pinson says instead of going to the police, he first made an offer to the people who opened the fake account. If the men issued an apology, agreed to make a donation to the Spring of Tampa Bay and perform 110 hours of community service, Pinson would not press charges. Pinson says the 2 men who created the account quickly agreed.

"We're not going to tolerate this in our community. We want honesty and integrity back in our society and the only way to take it back is to go after people like this" Pinson said.

Pinson would not reveal the identity of the men, saying he was afraid they'd likely lose their jobs over the incident. Plus, Pinson felt with the apology, donation and volunteer service, justice was served.