Mobile internet makes cyber crime easy

KOCHI: The ever-increasing number of the mobile phone users and advent of the easily accessible, fast to use 3G technology has not only made communication better but has also led to a steep increase in the number of cell phone related crimes among youth. According to the official statistics, the number of cases filed under the purview of IT act in the last one year has increased considerably.An expert in the cyber law said that the gizmo-friendly generation is hardly aware of the gravity of their crime. A study conducted as part of the cyber crime awareness campaign in Chengannur revealed that the teenagers are more vulnerable to such crimes. However, it was also found, only ten per cent of such crimes are reported. “Another area of concern is the children getting exposed to the pornographic sites. Both parents and teachers should monitor the websites visited by the children. They should also make sure that the children are not visiting cafes,” he said. Mail hacking, morphing and misusing of phone numbers are the common offenses committed by the youngsters. There have been reports from schools and colleges regarding this. Recently, a number of cases involving students were reported to the cyber cell. Some of them are very serious in nature and some mobile related crimes have also led to bigger crimes. “Although, the students are not supposed to use mobile phones during school hours some of them manage to sneak in the phones. We come across cases of mobile misuse very often. We seize the mobile from the students and warn them. Though we make it a point to inform their parents, we don’t report it to the cyber cell,” said a school teacher. There are also cases of young girls falling in to the traps set by people who they acquaint over the internet or through phone calls.“We try to spread awareness and give guidelines to our students. For students it is always safe to use recharge coupons as their numbers can reach strangers while they give it for recharge. We also discourage them to take calls coming from unknown numbers or respond to messages coming from strangers” she added.