Introduction
Social media crimes are cyber offences committed through social networking platforms, messaging applications, and online communication services. These crimes generally involve misuse of social media platforms for harassment, impersonation, fraud, cyber bullying, threats, identity theft, stalking, cheating, or circulation of offensive content.
With the increasing use of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn, cyber criminals often create fake profiles, misuse personal information, or manipulate users for financial and personal gain.
What Types Of Crimes Commonly Occur On Social Media?
Several forms of cyber offences are commonly reported on social media platforms. These include online threats, cyber stalking, cyber bullying, impersonation, hacking of social media accounts, fake profile creation, identity theft, financial fraud, and cheating through fake online friendships.
Cyber criminals may also misuse social media for illegal trading activities, circulation of morphed photographs, blackmail, harassment, or fraudulent requests for money by pretending to be someone else. Fake profiles are frequently created by misrepresenting known persons in order to harass, defame, or cheat others.
What Is A Fake Social Media Profile?
A fake social media profile is an account created by impersonating another person or using false identity details. Such fake profiles are often used for cheating, online harassment, extortion, spreading offensive material, or damaging a person’s reputation.
Cyber criminals may upload morphed photographs, send fraudulent messages, or establish fake emotional relationships to deceive victims into transferring money or sharing personal information.
What Preventive Measures Can Be Taken Against Social Media Crimes?
Users should exercise caution while sharing personal information online. Privacy settings of social media accounts should be kept at the highest restricted level to prevent misuse of personal data. Users should avoid accepting friend requests from unknown persons and should never share passwords or login credentials with others.
People should also avoid clicking suspicious links received through messages or emails, as such links may lead to hacking or phishing attacks. Logging out after each session and limiting publicly visible information may also help reduce cyber risks.
How Can A Complaint Be Filed For Social Media Crimes?
A victim may file a complaint at the nearest police station or cyber crime police station by submitting a written complaint explaining the incident in detail. The complaint should generally contain details of the fake profile, social media account, suspected person (if known), dates of occurrence, and nature of harm caused.
The complainant should attach screenshots of the fake profile or offending content where the URL of the profile is clearly visible. Soft copies and printed copies of supporting evidence should also be preserved and provided to the investigating officer whenever required.
A complaint may also be filed online through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal operated by the Government of India.
What Legal Provisions Apply To Social Media Crimes?
Several provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 may apply to social media offences depending on the nature of the act committed.
Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with identity theft and applies where a person fraudulently uses another individual’s password, digital signature, or electronic identity. Section 66D applies to cheating by personation using computer resources and is commonly invoked in fake profile scams, online cheating, and fraudulent impersonation cases.
Section 67 of the Information Technology Act punishes publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form, while Section 67A applies to sexually explicit electronic content. Section 67B specifically relates to electronic material involving children.
Unauthorised access to social media accounts, hacking, or data theft may attract Section 43 and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, which deal with damage to computer systems, unauthorised access, and related cyber offences.
Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, provisions relating to cheating, criminal intimidation, stalking, defamation, extortion, forgery, obscenity, and harassment may also apply depending on the facts of the case. Online threats, blackmail, circulation of morphed images, and cyber stalking may therefore result in both cybercrime proceedings and ordinary criminal prosecution.
What Happens After Filing The Complaint?
After the complaint is filed, the cybercrime authorities may conduct preliminary verification and initiate investigation proceedings. Authorities may collect electronic evidence, obtain account details from social media platforms, trace IP addresses, examine digital devices, and seek banking or telecom records wherever required.
If sufficient evidence is found, criminal proceedings may be initiated before the competent court under the applicable provisions of cyber and criminal law.
Why Is Awareness About Social Media Crimes Important?
Awareness about social media crimes is important because online platforms contain large amounts of personal and financial information that may be misused by cyber criminals. Careless sharing of personal details, photographs, travel plans, or financial information may expose users to fraud, identity theft, blackmail, and other cyber offences.
