SOCIAL MEDIA CRIMES
Social media is a place where we share our lives with the world. We often forget that there are cyber criminals out there who are waiting for their chance to take advantage of us. While spending time on social media sites, we make ourselves easy targets for cyber crimes. Cybercriminals can use your profile images to fraudulently open an account in your name and connect with your friends and family. They may trick your social media connections into sending money, clicking links to malicious websites, or providing personal information. Over the years, several movies have depicted how cyber crimes happen on social media. For a start, here are a few of them.
The movie “The Social Network” (2010) revolves around the founding of Facebook and how it became so popular. In this movie, there is a scene where Zuckerberg’s friend gets hacked, and his password gets stolen employing phishing.
In “You’ve Got Mail”, a businessman named Joe Fox starts a fake email account to get information about his
competitor’s company. He sends out an email to everyone in the company and offers them a free lunch from his
restaurant. The email looks like it came from the CEO of their company, so everyone shows up at Joe’s restaurant
for lunch.
In “The Girl with the dragon tattoo”, Stieg Larsson’s protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is a victim of cyberstalking. He receives threatening emails from an unknown source and gets followed by a mysterious man who knows his every move. The movie explores the effects of cyberstalking on its victims. The protagonist is not only physically observed
but also psychologically tormented by his unknown stalker.
Catfish is a 2010 American documentary film. The film is about a New York artist, Nev Schulman, who creates an online persona to pursue his dream girl. The movie follows Nev Schulman as he discovers that his girlfriend, Megan, has been lying to him and fabricating her entire life on the Internet. Nev sets off on an adventure to uncover the truth about her and, in the process, discovers how easy it is for people to deceive others on social media. In “The Social Network” movie, Mark Zuckerberg hacks into Harvard’s student database and looks at pictures of women on campus to find one he wants to date.
Social media has made it easier to commit crimes. Phishing is one of the most common social media crimes. It is a type of fraud in which someone sends you an email that looks like it is from a company or person you trust, but the email contains malware or a virus that can steal your personal information. Phishing is sending an email from an
illegitimate source that contains malicious links or attachments.
Identity theft is another common social media crime. Identity theft is when someone uses another person’s personal information to commit fraud, such as opening credit cards or obtaining loans in their name. It occurs when someone steals your personal information and uses it without your permission. For example, cybercriminals may use stolen names, addresses and phone numbers to get credit cards, jobs and other things in their name. Identity theft can cause significant damage to your credit report and take months or years to repair. Social media crime is most common in the first few years of using a new service when everyone learns how it works. If you see any suspicious activity, report it as soon as possible.
Morphing refers to changing one photo into another by adding or removing parts of the image so that it becomes unrecognizable to the original photo’s owner. It is also when people digitally alter a picture of themselves to make it look like they are someone else, often celebrities. Morphing is done through software or using photos found on the
Internet and editing them with digital tools. The Malayalam movie Operation Java is based on a real-life cyber crime and narrates a tale of a sari-clad married woman (played by Dhanya) whose morphed porn video goes viral on social media until it is finally proved that it’s not her.
Cyberbullying is a social media crime that is growing in popularity. It ranges from posting mean comments on Facebook to sending death threats on Snapchat. The problem with cyberbullying is that the bully can hide behind their computer, and they’re able to say whatever they want without any consequences. The movie “Caught in a web”
is about three women’s lives turning into living nightmares when a bizarre cyberbully hacks into their cellphones and computers. With the help of a police officer, they join forces to track down the offender and end the harassment.
The movie “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” deals with this issue, based on a book of the same name. When Lara Jean discovers that someone has been secretly sending love letters to her older sister Margot, she becomes distraught and angry. Lara goes through Margot’s phone and finds out that it is – one of her classmates named Josh, who has been bullying her for years. Cyberbullying can sometimes lead to real-world consequences like school bullying and suicide. Many states have laws against cyberbullying, and there are even specialized social media crime units in some police departments
Cyberstalking is when someone uses social media to harass or threaten some person. Cyberstalking is a crime that
involves harassing and following someone online. Cyberstalking is using the Internet or other electronic means to
stalk, harass, annoy, alarm or intimidate a person. Cyberstalking may include monitoring the person’s use of social
media, such as Facebook messages and Twitter feeds. Some movies have shown cyberstalking in their storyline. In the television serial titled Cyberstalker 2012, directed by Curtis Crawford, Mischa Barton stars as a young artist living in seclusion since her parents were murdered by her stalker thirteen years earlier; her peace is suddenly disturbed by his reappearance. Another example is The Social Network (2010). In this movie, Mark Zuckerberg creates a website Facemash, that allows Harvard students to vote on the most attractive female students from their yearbook photos.
Criminals are using social media to commit burglary. Criminals use social media to perpetrate and identify burglary targets. It is common to post about your activities, such as vacations, dinners, etc. Because of the sensitive information they provide about the victim, the criminals often use this information to indulge in break-ins during the absence of the inmates. As they get enough time to get into the victim’s home, using the information posted on the media sites by the victim is used by criminals to their advantage.
Online Job Fraud is another social media crime which is becoming rampant. During registration, job seekers’ accounts get compromised when they disclose their bank account, credit card, or debit card details on fraudulent job search websites. Fraudsters may also act as representatives of a reputable organization and offer employment after
performing phoney interviews. Afterwards, they persuade the job seeker to send money for registration, compulsory training, a laptop, and other expenses.
Cybercrime is a growing problem that criminal networks use to commit fraud and steal money from unsuspecting victims. Criminal groups use social media sites as platforms for identity theft and other cybercrimes to attract new members with the promise of financial gain or notoriety. For example, in 2016, more than half a million fake Facebook profiles were created in the United States alone, with most users in New York. These fake profiles are for fraudulent purposes, such as selling stolen goods or scamming people out of their money. Fraud cases on social media witnessed an increase of 43% in 2018. Approximately 44,546 cases were reported under the cyber-crime head in 2019 compared to 27,248 cases in 2018. Therefore, National Crime Reporting Bureau observed a rise of 63.5% in cyber-crimes.
Using social media platforms to investigate crimes of all kinds is becoming essential for the police. Police are using Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter to alert the public about local crimes. Posting videos and images of crime scenes and arrests and updates on ongoing investigations are common occurrences on social media.
The increased use of social media has presented new ways for criminals to exploit vulnerabilities in the online community. It is essential to stay vigilant when using social media sites, especially when sharing personal information. Be careful about who you allow into your network and what you share with them. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid making yourself a target by keeping personal information private and secure. In addition to personal safety, it is essential to know your rights as a social media user and how to report any inappropriate behaviour or content.
Dr. K.Jayanth Murali is an IPS Officer belonging to 1991 batch. He is borne on Tamil Nadu cadre. He lives with his family in Chennai, India. He is currently serving the Government of Tamil Nadu as Director General of Police, Idol Wing CID.