Well, in the world of social media you can pretend to be someone else and it may sound funny, but it is a crime and the consequences of that "joke" are not very pleasant.
First of all, we need to know what identity theft is: a person pretends to be another list of contact numbers in philippines person in order to commit an illegal act or cause harm . It is often the case on the Internet that a person pretends to be another person in order to obtain information or cause harm, putting the reputation of the impersonated person in jeopardy and potentially affecting their family, romantic or professional life.
Within the Penal Code it is regulated in article 401 :
Anyone who usurps the civil status of another will be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years.
The Supreme Court doctrine understands that identity theft on social networks must be a complete act. Simply using a name and surname is not enough.
"The crime, therefore, is completed with the realization of the usurping activity and ceases when the implementation is concluded. The conduct of the agent requires a certain permanence and is inherent to the purpose of full usurpation of the affected person's overall personality."
There is no crime in the case of sporadic fictions or when one impersonates another for a specific act and in order to disguise one's own identity.
Another crime that may be linked to that of art. 401 CP is the crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets , of article 197 and following. If your identity has been stolen and conversations or photographs that reveal intimate and personal matters are made public, we would be facing a crime of this type. Prison sentences range from up to two years, but in the most serious cases, they can reach up to five years.
If you have been the victim of identity theft on social networks , the first thing you should do is report it to the police . You should also do so to the administrators of the page in question, for example: if your Facebook account has been stolen, report it on the page itself.
Gather all kinds of evidence, this will help you to be able to demand compensation for damages and is a way to prove them.
There is also the Internet Security Office or the National Cybersecurity Institute that will advise you on how to protect yourself and how to act if you suspect that you may be a victim of one of these cases of identity theft.