KOCHI: Given rising cyber crimes in Ernakulam, the Student Police Cadet (SPC) in the district has decided to conduct awareness programmes against various cyber frauds among children.
As per the data from the Kerala Police, cases of cyber crimes are increasing by over 100% each year in the state. While 773 cases were registered in 2022, the number rose to 3,155 cases in 2023.
The state reported 531 cases in the first two months alone in 2024. Though the Kerala Police is running several campaigns against cyber fraud, many people are still falling prey to the schemes of scamsters.
Unlike the police, which operate sensitisation programmes online, SPC is looking to spread awareness against cyber crimes among children through educational institutions. Sooraj Kumar M B, nodal officer of SPC in Ernakulam, said the awareness programmes for children will begin in the upcoming academic year.
“Children are more tech-savvy and know about the trends in the cyber world. As their access to online platforms has increased, there is a possibility of them being targeted by fraudsters. Hence, we are launching the project to spread awareness against cyber crimes among school children. The programme will cover every school in the district. Teachers will be leading the programme while SPC members will assist the programme in their respective schools,” Sooraj said.
SPC had recently conducted training programmes for teachers handling Information Technology (IT) in schools. In the second phase, student counsellors at the schools will be given training on cybercrime.
“We realised that though the students are well versed with the cyber world, they know little about preventive measures to be taken against online crimes. We plan to explain to students about various cyber frauds reported across the globe and give them lessons about how to prevent such crimes. We will also tell them about the authorities to approach if they are targeted by online fraudsters. Once the children are trained in this regard, they will share their knowledge with their parents as well,” he said.
SPC is currently operating a Digital De-Addiction (DDA) programme in the district which was launched in November last year. Over 100 children attended the DDA project in the district. A majority of them were addicted to online games.