Sharjah Police tell students how to deal with social media trolls, blackmail

Sharjah: The Sharjah Police General Command, represented by the Community Police Department, in cooperation with the Sharjah Special Education Authority, is going all out to educate students about electronic crimes.

In a virtual awareness workshop under the title “Electronic Crimes”, through the Smart Academy platform, it sought to raise awareness among students and the public about cybercrime, the dangers resulting from it, and how to deal with trolls and blackmailers. A troll is often equated with online or social media harassment.

A number of students from private schools affiliated to the Sharjah Private Education Authority took part in the workshop.

The workshop was presented by Sgt. Raja Khalid Faisal from the Community Police Department at Sharjah Police. He dealt with defining the concept of cybercrime, best practices in using electronic devices, websites, social media channels, and electronic gaming platforms. He informed students about ways to preserve private information while using the internet, and ensuring that they do not talk to strangers and chat with them, or send any personal information to strangers.

The workshop included a number of topics related to electronic fraud methods, such as the risks resulting from telephone fraud, the fraud by copying bank cards, known as ‘scraping’, dealing safely with fake messages from trolls, and other topics that contribute to educating students about the importance of caution when dealing with others, especially across various websites.

Sharjah Police urged students not to hesitate to report any threat, and not to yield to the requests of trolls and fraudsters, by sending money or submitting to any form of electronic blackmail. Students were called upon to seek immediate help and assistance through Sharjah Police channels on social media to protect them from all risks which threatens their safety and security.