A young woman in her twenties is in distress after discovering a fake Instagram account that uses her middle school photos as its profile image. The account, which closely resembles her own username, has been active in impersonating her and has posted her past pictures with mocking comments. Although these images do not qualify as illegal filming, the young woman feels extreme anxiety over the fact that someone she does not know is mimicking her online. She has reported this account to the police, expressing her fears about being stalked and having her personal relationships jeopardized.

This incident is part of a broader trend where individuals create fake accounts on social media platforms like Instagram using everyday photographs from the past, causing distress to many victims. As victims share their experiences, interactions among them have surged, revealing a pattern of incidents where sensitive photographs have been used to impersonate individuals, putting their privacy at risk. One victim's account details how a harmless photo shared with a friend led to that friend's account being hacked and subsequently, a fake account emerged using their images to request connections from others.

According to South Korea’s Stalking Punishment Act, actions involving impersonation using someone's name, likeness, or images online are defined as stalking. Even if such activities do not fall under the category of serious sexual crimes like the distribution of illegal filming material or deepfake impersonation, creating a fake account without permission is still considered a criminal act. Despite the alarming rise in these incidents, responses from law enforcement tend to be inadequate, often downplaying the seriousness of the crime to something as trivial as misuse of old photographs, leaving victims feeling unsupported in their pursuit of justice.