Social media cyber crime
Cloned profiles, morphing, and harassment on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and similar platforms are among the most frequent non-financial cyber complaints in India. The brief is the URL, the screenshot, and a clear request to the platform and the police.
Matters taken up
- Fake or cloned profiles using a person’s photographs
- Identity theft and cheating by personation using a computer resource
- Morphing and circulation of intimate images without consent
- Cyber stalking, threats, and repeated unwanted messages
- Defamatory posts, forwarded groups, and review-page attacks
- Business pages hijacked or used to collect advance payments
- Notices received by a person alleged to have posted the content
Practical steps (information only)
Capture the profile URL, post URL, and timestamp before the account is deleted. Use in-app reporting. A complaint may also be made on the national portal. Do not retaliate by posting the same images or by threatening the other side in writing.
Counsel may be asked to draft a complaint, a takedown letter to the intermediary, or a defence if an FIR names the client.
Intimate-image and child-related material must not be forwarded to counsel’s email as an open attachment. Describe the fact in writing first; a secure method of sharing can then be agreed.