Cyber criminals target children

Many fraudsters specifically target children because they do not have the experience to distinguish legitimate requests from fraudulent ones.

This was the conclusion from yesterday's discussion arranged by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) on cyber safety and the related risks to children. The discussion was aimed to coincide with the Child Protection Week.

The event also aimed at discussing issues around policy, legal and awareness programmes currently under way to promote the safe and responsible use of the Internet and social media networks by children.

The participants said fraudsters could use intelligence gained from children online to steal, blackmail, terrorise parents, or even kidnap them.

Deputy minister of home affairs, Fatima Chohan, who was also a guest at the talk, advised parents to know and understand the cyber world so that they can understand the risks their children face online.

Her message was in line with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) secretary-general Hamadoun Toure's message that in this new digital world, “we all have a special responsibility to ensure the safety and security of young people in the online world, just as we do offline”.

According to the FPB, parents should help children to understand that they should never give out personal details to online friends they do not know offline.

The organisation said parents should explain to children which information about them is personal. “Examples are e-mail address, mobile numbers, school name, sports club, arrangement of meeting up with friends, and any pictures or videos of themselves, their family or friends,” it said.

At the discussion, parents were also urged to make children aware that they need to think carefully about the information and pictures they post on the Internet.

“Inform them that once published online, anyone can change or share these images of them. It can be easy to forget that the Internet is not a private space, and, as result, sometimes young people engage in risky behaviour online.”

Parents were also told to advise children not to post any pictures, videos or information on their social network profiles, or in chat rooms, that they would not want their parent or guardian to see.

The FPB also called on parents to tell children never to believe or reply to spam or junk e-mail and text messages.

“It's not a good idea for your child to open files that are from people they do not know. They won't know what they contain. It could be a virus, or worse an inappropriate image or film,” it warned.

According to the organisation, parents should help children to understand that some people lie online and that it is better to keep online mates online.

“Children should never agree to meet up with any strangers without an adult they trust. Always keep communication open for a child to know that it's never too late to tell someone if something makes them uncomfortable.”

According the Child Online Protection, an ITU initiative, there is a growing body of evidence that many children are developing an unhealthy addiction to spending time online. “Often, this addiction takes the form of Internet gaming, but essentially any online activity can become an addiction, causing increased risk of health and social problems.”

The initiative also points out that while filtering programs and parental controls are getting better, many children around the world are at risk of viewing images - pornographic or violent - that they aren't mature enough to understand or appreciate. In other cases, children are used and depicted as sexual objects.

While aggression is an unfortunate of life, it adds, the sheer range and volumes of online violence is something most people don't want children to be exposed to; for example images of war, domestic abuse, bigotry, misogyny, and other vicious attacks.

The FPB discussion was in line with SA's initiative of protecting the nation's young and most vulnerable during a seven-day show of solidarity with the cause of the country's children, Child Protection Week.

Child Protection Week was officially unveiled by social development minister Bathabile Dlamini on Monday and the objective this year is no different to previous years - looking after the children.

The week-long campaign is an opportunity to raise the profile of children, and mobilise community action and response to breaches of child protection.

This year's campaign, which marks 14 years since the inception of Child Protection Week, is observed under the theme 'Working together to protect children'.