It was shocking for 12-year-old Mansi Gupta to find that her Facebook account was hacked and when she could finally access it, her inbox was full of nasty messages. Alarmed by such cases of abuse on the Internet, cyber experts of the Delhi Police are beginning an e-awareness programme in schools to educate children about the pitfalls of using websites.
Like Mansi, many school students hooked to social networking websites are falling prey to dangers of the cyber world and out of fear and embarrassment, they neither talk about it to their parents nor to the police,
Starting next week, Delhi police teams will start visiting schools and spread awareness about morphing, hacking of mails, cyber stalking and cheating on the Internet. Talking about the new initiative, Vivek Gogai, additional commissioner of police, Economic Offence Wing (EOW) says, “Delhi Police is in touch with several schools for this programme and will be printing pamphlets, posters for teachers and parents. The cops will first cover Delhi Police Public Schools and later will reach out to other schools in Delhi. We will also try to take unattended complaints by students earlier and work on them.”
Schools too are looking forward to it and feel that it will help students turn “net smart”. Usha Ram, principal, Laxman Public School, “Cyber stalking, pictures being morphed and used on porn websites, fraud by an online friend are some of the common complaints faced by teens at a very young age. I feel parents should keep a check on their online friends and teach them the healthy use of the Internet. Schools and parents should ensure kids indulge in more creative work and outdoor activities.”