Obscene portrayals of women using morphing technique in social media has grown into a menace in the recent years, with Cybercrime police advising young women including college students to be on the defensive while uploading photos and images in the social media forums including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc.
SimpliCity spoke to District Cyber Security Wing Police officials about dangers lurking in cyberspace and how women are affected by such abuse. Here are their views for the benefit of the netizens.
Assistant Commissioner Asaithambi of Cyber Security Wing said that most complaints are received from young women who are targeted by some miscreants in one way or the other.
"When young women upload their photos in social media, there are instances were their picture are morphed in obscene ways and obscene portrayals. Blackmailing young women and taking revenge for unrequited love also fall into this category", AC Asaithambi said.
Advising the young women to be on the safe side and avoid uploading photos unnecessarily in social media Assistant Commissioner Asaithambi said that friend requests from strangers should be best avoided for personal online safety and security.
Likewise unsolicited cold calls, requesting for banking details are bogus in nature and one should not respond to such calls. Often the person at the other end might be a cyber-criminal, who is out to swindle your money using technology, he warned.
Mallika, Inspector of Police (Cyber-Crime) said that the common man should not hesitate to file formal complaints with the local police or the cybercrime police functioning within the city Police Commissioner office complex. Action would be taken on the complaint to remove obscene portrayal of an individual within 2 to 14 days."
“It is safer not to send videos and photos to online friends and acquaintances as some of it are stolen and used by cyber criminals. If the number of complaints and cases filed with the cyber cell is any indication, such cyber crimes are on the rise. While only 19 cases were filed in 2016 the cybercrime police have filed 35 cases till August in the current year, which shows that the cyber criminals are out on the prowl in cyber space”, Mallika said.
"Out of the complaints recorded so far, College Students and teenagers are the victims of such cyber issues, as they tend to share their photos and videos with friends and boy friends, which again is a very bad habit, as such. Though not immediately, their photos could be mis-used even at a later part of their life. Sharing selfies with unknown people and uploading them in social network sites is not advisable at all ", warned Mallika, Inspector of Police (Cyber-Crime)
Both men and women are advised to contact the Cyber Cell under such circumstances instead of dealing it by themselves which could actually accentuate the issue. The Cyber Cell officials also assured that the details of such complainants and their family would be kept secretively. The officials also stressed the quote "Prevention is better than cure" and advised the net users to be triple careful when sharing their private information to people unnecessarily as the consequences could be very bitter.
The Cyber Cell can be contacted at 04222399100