A growing menace that is increasingly high on the crime charts is cybercrime. Described as a “cowardly” form of crime, it leaves the victims extremely shaken even as it accords the perpetrator the advantage of anonymity, at least till the time the crime is not reported.
With social media having expanded over the years, it has become very easy for even strangers to harass, abuse and bully the unwary, who undergo much trauma. According to new research by a global cyber security company Norton by Symantec, in India eight out of 10 people surveyed have experienced some form of online harassment.
The most common forms of online harassment are abuse and insults (63 per cent) and malicious gossip and rumours (59 per cent). The online harassment range from unwanted conflict, trolling, character assassination and cyber bullying to sexual harassment and threats of physical violence, as well as the impacts of these experiences.
Incidence of online harassment, according to the Norton study, was particularly high for people in the under 40s age group, with 65 per cent reporting online abuse and insults. Frighteningly, 87 per cent of people with disabilities or poor mental health and 77 per cent of those with weight issues reported experiences of abuse or insults online.
While people get wiser after such incidents, cyber crime department of the police has been regularly advising people to take precautions and prevent them.
Technology is today available to tackle cyber crime. In fact, a number of cases have been solved and the criminals hauled up.
Yet, it pays to be careful, they say. Advising all computer and mobile phone users to be vigilant about any such incidents, the police department has exhorted people to immediately report them so that the perpetrators can be immediately caught