Chennai cops tweet on cyber security awareness

Chennai: Know who your child is talking to online; it is easy for people to create false identities and lure children into dangerous situations", is what one of the dozen tweets by the City Police reads in its official twitter handle, as part of the cyber awareness campaign launched among the Twitteratti.  The twitter handle (@chennaipolice), which has about 2,400 followers, has been online since 2013, and has its tweet counter running thereon.

The new campaign is laying emphasis on the use of mobile phones, which are the devices most abused by criminals and are also the most useful devices for investigators going after the digital trail of known suspects.

The pictorial tweets from the handle on Monday began with a note of advice on buying mobiles. It suggested that purchases be made from a reputed shop with a bill and warranty card and to obtain details of previous ownership, in case you are opting for a used mobile phone.

The set of around 9 tips delves into intricacies that can help keep citizens out of harm's way. For instance, the second tip advises mobile users to de-activate their number as and when the mobile phone goes missing and that this particular service does not require an FIR.

One particular pictorial tweet advises against giving the phone for service with the SIM card or memory card in it, as there is no security for the information present in the device. The rest were generic ones, like not to use abandoned mobile phones with SIM and to install anti-theft software.

The other cyber-security advice includes not to get lured by SMS lottery scams and to verify the genuineness of the product while buying it through online portals.

So far, city cops seem to have covered all aspects, including keeping personal information private in social networking sites. A tweet warned that sharing information was not anonymous as anything that was uploaded on the Internet maybe available for decades or even longer.