The Ministry of Interior warned in a press statement issued on Friday those who use the social media for nefarious purposes that might disrupt the safety and security of the general populace.

No bogus phone calls or prank calls, whether used as instances of hijinx or plain threats, will be tolerated by authorities and those involved in such shenanigans will be held accountable for their misuse of the social media or smart phones and will be charged with disturbing the peace and abuse of communication devices, said the statement. Such people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, it added.

The statement cited an incident of a prank phone call where the father of a young woman received a threatening message over the social media of WhatsApp saying his daughter has been selected as a bride for ISIL. Police investigation discovered that the message had been sent by a relative of the young woman as ostensibly an act of fun.

In another similar incident, a man received a threatening social media message from a friend informing him that his car has been booby-trapped. Police investigated the message and found it to be completely bogus. The friend has been arrested and charged with a number of offenses including misuse of a communications device and spreading false information, said the ministry statement.

It appealed to the public to exercise good judgement when using the social media and smart phones.