How to Protect Children From Cybercrimes And Keep Them Safe In The Digital World

Recently, my neighbor's child told me she had bought a set of make-up items online using her mother's online banking facilities. So, in the process, did she commit a crime?

From the legal perspective, yes, she did! If the girl has posed as her mother and used her mother's financial details without her mother's knowledge, she could be booked under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code. She could also be booked under sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008), such as:

S.66C (punishment for identity theft)

S.66D (punishment for cheating by personation by using the computer resources)

Lack of monitoring is dangerous

We often see children accessing parent's devices as well as sensitive personal financial data without the parents monitoring them. Free access to their parent's phones is extremely dangerous as the children may be exposed to violent or offensive content on the Internet. In such cases, can the children and parents be called criminals and victims or vice versa? We have heard the proverb 'Charity begins at home'. Similarly, criminality begins at home if the child is not monitored or sensitized to the dangers.

Cybercrimes are crimes committed through computer networks, computer resources, or with the help of digital communication devices as a whole. While children are the most vulnerable to such crimes, they can also turn into juvenile perpetrators if they are not properly sensitized.

The cyber juvenile delinquents

While there are online games like the Blue Whale that encourage children to commit suicide, these are by no means the only challenge the World Wide Web has thrown up for children. And the frightening thing is children tend to learn everything offered by visual communication-based media like smartphones. A couple of children I know love to watch and play violent games on their phones. When I asked them why they liked these games, I was shocked when they said they were more thrilling than a mere detective story because they could murder, stab and even rape people without being caught!

Age restrictions? Who cares?

While these games may come with age restrictions, who monitors that? And who really cares? There are several examples of younger children being enticed by strangers to grow the latter's racket. Then there were the three British teenagers who were groomed by Islamic State recruiters through a social media site and later left their homes to join the vicious organization. Further, there have been reports of teenagers actually capturing voyeuristic images or recording sexual assaults to gratify themselves or to sell them to the porn market.

Child perpetrators are victims

But, why and how are children turning perpetrators? I believe a child perpetrator may be a victim of circumstances or various other factors which might have pushed him into becoming a perpetrator. Often, children get in touch with strangers because they access the Internet through their social media or messaging services without being monitored and supervised. Further, children may also use their parent's profiles or may encounter proxy stalkers who are frenemies of their parents. They may also become victims of cyberbullying because they don't know when not to answer back.

Hidden pockets of victimization

It is unfortunate that while schools hand out Internet-based assignments, they don't sensitize the children properly. Many teenagers unknowingly share personal photos or selfies with their friends through messaging sites. But these are hidden pockets of victimization. We never know who might access the phone in the absence of the child who was supposed to receive the content. There are instances of relatives of the child seeing such pictures and immediately transferring them to their mobiles just to play with them in an adult manner later.

Ways to keep your child safe

In present times, parents often lack the time to monitor their children. The children themselves have also become smarter in escaping parent's surveillance. What then is the solution?

1. Try not to pacify the child with your digital device. Traditional pacifiers like sketchbooks and crayons are far better and safer than unmonitored digital habits.
2. When your child is adamant about taking your phone, offer to watch what she wants to watch. The child will learn that parents can be depended on to share a secret.
3. Do not let your child use social media when you are not around. Encourage him to have his own network only when he is completely aware of the dangers. Tell him to make you a friend so you can guide him and protect him from predators.
4. Teach your child how to report, block, and avoid predators. Ask her to help you in blocking an account that you feel might be fake. If she can watch crime thrillers on TV, she can also see what a fake profile looks like. This would be a practical lesson for her.
5. Tell your child not to opt for online shopping alone, that you don't want him to be considered an impersonator using your card. Smart children will immediately understand what you mean.
6. Teach your child how to reach the police if there is cybercrime. See that she has all the information about the cybercrime prevention cell of the police, in case of need.

Follow these rules to stay safe and teach your child to be safe too.