Nowadays, with the advent of the information age, cyberspace has made its appearance not merely as an imaginary space but as an important stage of life, affecting our lives directly and significantly. Recently, the so-called SNS, or Social Network Service has swiftly permeated our daily lives. As a result, we can observe a phenomenon that is starting many ripple effects throughout the society. Insomuch as SNS is being used by many people from countries all around the world including Korea, it can be said that social networking, despite its short history, has become an important part of social interaction.

As the public is generally accepting it as a kind of a parallel reality, Social Network Service is becoming more and more common each day. Unfortunately, however, because of its openness and speed, SNS is being used as a tool for crime as well. For one example, personal information leaks on SNS could be directly or indirectly used for criminal purposes, as SNS provides location tracking services and its users exchange private information with each other. In other words, criminals are using the positive aspect of SNS, which is the trust between the acquainted users, to abuse its weakness, which is the vulnerability of security and location information of the users.

To understand the status quo of the Social Network Service crimes, this report sought to present specific and systematic policy response measures by identifying domestic and foreign crime cases and organizing the characteristic of each type of crime. This report seeks to review the methods and characteristics to abusing SNS, explore effective preventative measures, and examine the problems and their countermeasures through the lens of criminal justice policy.

Thus, considering the current situation that not only cyberspace but also SNS is being used as a tool and measure for crime, the need for more intensive research of such problems arises. This report addresses policy suggestions based on the phenomenological crime trends on SNS in the light of the emerging need to seek for effective preventative and punitive response measures.