The Dark Side of Social Networking Sites: A Review of Cybercrime Research

Background:Social Networking Sites (SNS) provide a platform to people of all kinds to commune, while also creating the dark world of cybercrimes. Cybercriminals use social media to collect information about targets, make plans, and commit crimes. Increasing crimes on social networking applications have attracted the attention of researchers.Method:We conducted a systematic literature review to thoroughly analyze cybercrimes on social networking applications. A total of 26 publications from leading high-quality journals (predominantly from Information Systems) have been studied for narrative synthesis. Alongside synthesizing cybercrime topics, a profiling of cybercrimes was conducted.Results:In our analysis, we discovered a range of theories within various articles that aid in understanding the factors contributing to cybercrime on SNS, as well as the behaviors of both users and criminals responsible for these cybercrimes. Additionally, we identified three distinct themes associated with cybercrimes: direct cybercrimes involving explicit harm by cybercriminals (such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and similar offenses), Indirect cybercrimes through misuse of information where cybercriminals indirectly influence targets to engage in criminal activities (including cyberactivism and crime sensing), and an exploration of the impact of cybercrime on SNS users. We finally propose a conceptual framework grounded in the Routine Activity Theory (RAT) and social networks for the analysis of cybercrimes.Conclusion: We propose a cybercrime framework for social networking sites using RAT to identify gaps. We then discuss the limitations of existing literature, including policy and practice gaps. Our contributions span two dimensions. First, in theory, we identify and categorize cybercrimes, explore its user impact, and create an analytical framework for understanding its complexities. Second, in practice, we emphasize the need for policy formulation, disclosure scale design, application development, digital interventions, and best practice implementation to effectively tackle SNS cybercrimes.