He made an e-mail account for his friend, who used it for sinful purposes; should he close it down without telling him?

Dear Brothers & Sisters,
As-Salaamu-Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
I made an e-mail account for one of my friends, and I found out he had been using it for sinful purposes, so I closed his e-mail account without telling him and I do not want him to know. Is that permissible or not?.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Check below answers in case you are looking for other related questions:
Writing down the name of a person who is absent from work as if he is present
It is part of etiquette to refrain from asking people about their private affairs

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

If you made the e-mail account for your friend or let him use your account and it became his, and he is responsible for it, you do not have the right to look at what is in it or to close it without him knowing, because of the sanctity of the property and honour of the Muslim. It is not permissible to spy on him or to dispose of this property or to spoil its benefits. The way for you to deal with it is to advise him, remind him and speak out, within the proper guidelines. 

If you gave him an e-mail account by way of lending it to him to use it for a while, and he used it for haraam purposes, then you can do whatever you think is best, either closing it or advising and warning him, because the e-mail address is still your property, so it is permissible to you to dispose of it as you see fit. 

You should advise your friend in either case and explain to him the seriousness of sin so that he will not go back to it if he gets another e-mail account. 

And Allah knows best.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah's Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam

Related Answers:
Selling cameras to those who will use them for haraam pictures
Ruling on masturbation and how to cure the problem
Who has more right to her son – her or her husband whom she suspects of witchcraft? What are the signs of the practitioner of witchcraft?
Writing down the name of a person who is absent from work as if he is present
It is part of etiquette to refrain from asking people about their private affairs

Recommended answers for you:
The way to a good end
What is the right age to get children used to fasting?
Advice to one who does not want to get married
She did not eat suhoor and did not wake up for Fajr. Should she carry on fasting or break her fast?
She used to do the secret habit and did not do ghusl but she fasted and prayed