DUE to the prevalence of predatory activities online, teens are warned that their Internet interactions could entrap them and land them in jail.

Inspector Stacey-Ann Powell, a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Counter Terrorism & Organised Crime (C-TOC) unit, warned about this cybercrime trend during the Online Safety Fireside Chat at Flow Jamaica’s Safer Internet Day (SID) 2021 Virtual Teen Summit.

“When you are looking at fraudulent activities online they (online predators) will approach young persons and [following investigations] we are seeing [where] accounts are rented, monies deposited and most times they (young persons) indicate that they did not know that it was a crime,” Inspector Powell stated.

“We ought to understand as young persons and teenagers that once you are 12 and over, you become accountable [and can be] arrested for a crime within our country,” said Inspector Powell.

International cybersecurity company Fortinet, along with technology columnists for the New York Times and Forbes magazine, have reported a steady increase in botnets and phishing since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Nicholas Kee, a member of the UNICEF U-Report Council, which conducted local research in that area, also spoke at the event and suggested critical thinking for Internet use as a means of combatting illegal advances.

“The greatest threat to our Internet usage now is that we are in the age of information overload and there are things that we need to be careful about,” said Kee.

“Fake news is probably seen as the more popular mainstream ideology, but behind fake news is a lot of malicious activity by bad actors. It is imperative for us to think critically about the information that we consume and be mindful about its impact,” he added.

The Bank of Jamaica’s 2018 Financial Stability Report listed 62 counts of Internet banking fraud, totalling $38.2 million, revealing approximately two attacks per week. Last year, a cybersecurity report showed that data breach had catapulted by 150 per cent in 2019.

The Cyber Crimes Act of 2015 is Government’s main legislation that treats with the matter and on the issue of safety.

Inspector Powell advised the the young people:

1. Never share your password.

2. Be wary of social media platforms.

3, Click with caution, never leave your devices unattended, as this can lead to unauthorised access of computer data.

4. Understand privacy policies, back up data, keep your Internet connection secure, monitor online activities and check what is happening with your devices on a day-to-day basis.

Summit participants were also warned about sexual exploitation and cyberbullying, which are notable online crimes targeting teens.

“With online crimes, they are generally associated with sexual offences because normally when persons are lured online, especially our females, then there are some aspects of sexual exploitation. So CISOCA (Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse) is another agent, another part of the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) that you can also contact.”

Inspector Powell classified cyberbullying as “unwanted behaviour that is threatening, obscene and/or menacing in nature”, noting that is accounted for in the Cyber Crimes Act of 2015.

Kee, meanwhile, referenced a 2019 study that showed that “34 per cent of its participants were cyberbullied and of the general study, 20 per cent of them did not fee inclined to go to school”.

Djonae Roy, of the National Secondary Schools Council (NSSC), also listed varying effects of cyberbullying at the summit.

“It has various factors because some persons get bullied because of certain things. It depends on your confidence as a student. You may actually look at yourself and say ‘okay’, you’re not going to make something that somebody said affect you, so some students may not take it as necessarily big, but some people, they take it to a point where they even commit suicide as well,” said the St Hugh’s High student.

Inspector Powell urged individuals to report suspicious activity to the police in person or by phone.

“In communicating any report as it relates to a breach of the law, and if you’re specifically making reference to a breach of the cybercrimes legislation or the Sexual Offenses Act, you can visit any station across the island and make your report,” said the law enforcement official.

“Whist the stations will contact C-TOC by virtue of the fact that our cybercrimes department lies there for technical assistance, it does not prevent any citizen of Jamaica from visiting a police station to make a report, or to actually call to ask for advice,” added Inspector Powell.