An Omaha, NB, woman says she is caught in an ID theft nightmare which has not only caused her embarrassment but raised fears for her safety.

At the root of the whole affair is a fake MySpace page, which victim Shanae Starks says was set up in her name by someone else to hurt her.

Whomever the perpetrator of the fake page is, Starke says it must be someone who knows her — or has stalked her. The fake page mentions where she works and what kind of car she drives. And they somehow got personal photos of her.

But the shadowy MySpace poster(s) went further, making some disparaging comments on the page about street gangs. And that’s when Starks started fearing for her safety.

After several requests from Starks, MySpace removed the offending page. But a new fake Starks page was posted before the day was out.

Local police said fake Web pages aren’t illegal, though they may be highly unethical. To find out who’s behind the attack on Starks, authorities would have to obtain subpoenas compelling MySpace and the perpetrator’s ISP to reveal the page owner’s real location and identity. If the perpetrator was not a Nebraska resident, it would take take even more official effort.

But nothing is being done to track down the person behind the fake MySpace pages. Police say that, even if they were able to find the perpetrator, the most serious charge they could lay would be disturbing the peace, a mere misdemeanor, the most severe penalty for which is a small fine.

All of which leaves Shanae Starks in a special sort of digital purgatory, perhaps indefinitely.