The rise of social media has brought a dramatic change to the life of people. The internet-driven virtual communication is not merely confined to the pep talks among the friends and relatives. It has played an instrumental role in facilitating the works covering almost all professions. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat have been widely used to convey information and share ideas among individuals and groups. The social networking sites serve as handy tools for the individuals, government offices, private companies, political parties and foreign missions to pass their message instantly. They carry broad personal, social, economic and cultural dimensions. In an age when people live a hectic life, the social media has evolved as a boon for them to pursue fast and effective interactions, which substitute the need of physical meetings and parleys.

Facebook has become very popular platform to make new friends and establish new relationship. Over a billion of people are now connected to Facebook worldwide, enabling them to speak their mind, post statements, share images and videos, and pass quick comments on them. As the saying – ‘every coin has two sides’- goes, the social media too has brighter and darker facets. Fraudsters and cons abuse it to cheat, threaten and blackmail innocent and gullible folks. The popular social site has also turned into an instrument to fan hatred and assassinate the character of decent people by disclosing confidential chats and incriminating photos. Now it has been used for honey trapping in which a beautiful girl or woman first befriends an unfamiliar man, establishes a romantic and physical relationships with him and then start to threaten to sue victims on charge of rape. This compels the victim to pay money to her as much as she demands for fear of exposé of his physical ties with her which might not only damage his reputation but also ends family life if he is a married person.

In the past, honey trapping was primarily an investigative tool to force the targets to speak truth. The trappers set up a false relationship to access to intended persons and retrieve sensitive information from them. It was the part of state espionage but also used for interpersonal, financial and diplomatic purposes. However, these days, a growing number of honey trappings have come to the fore, giving the police a hard time. The imposters have skilfully manipulated the unsuspecting people through Facebook. This daily has published a news report in which girls have put innocent people in a honey trap for financial gains. The femme fatales seduce the men into physical relationships before blackmailing them to extort money. The cases came to light after they finally landed in police office after the victims failed to meet the extorters’ ever rising demand of money.

There are various modus operandi of honey trappings. Sometime culprits create fake Facebook accounts in the name of famous people, get connected with their friends and ask them to transfer money urgently. It is illegal act to blackmail someone for money through developing an illicit relationship. Fault does not only lie in the seductive women but also in those who instantly believe in former and forget their family values, discipline and responsibility. The Facebook users must not be lured into the sweet talks of strangers. It is necessary to bring the cases of honey trappings into legal framework and deal them sternly. Moreover, there is the need of spreading awareness of the increasing crimes occurring through the social media.