With only a few filing petitions, the sources of many fake social media accounts created to fuel political and communal tension are going unchecked letting cybercriminals go scot-free.
Since the declaration of the Assembly elections, such faceless profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been on overdrive spreading political animosity, fake news, and insulting comments.
Apart from malicious content, gory pictures and distorted videos are doing the rounds upsetting social harmony. Social media managers of various youth organisations claim that even mass reporting of such unhealthy accounts happen only in very few cases as people are not really concerned of its impact without severe punishment.
“Though the northern Kerala region Cyberdome in the city is equipped to track creators of such profiles, the absence of genuine petitions, where complainants can produce digital evidence, is affecting the whole worth of the service,” says a senior civil police officer who worked with the hi-tech crime inquiry cell.
According to sources with the cyber cell, tracking the creator of fake profiles who usually make use of virtual private network is a time-consuming affair and is mostly done in serious cases. Many a time, admins of popular social media networks do not cooperate with the inquiry in cases that do not involve national security, women’s safety and children’s well being.
“Many petitions are awaiting action which dissuade the public from filing fresh petitions. However, any laxity in reporting such crimes will only encouraging criminals,” says a cybersecurity expert with the Cyber Park in Kozhikode.
