You have bullies in the real world and bullies in cyber space. While the real world bully can be identified with no trouble, the cyber bully has no persona and cannot be easily tracked down. So it is up to you to ‘Be Safe in Cyberspace’.

Did your friends just inform you of the existence of a social media profile with your name, photo and details and you didn’t know that such a fake account existed? Is an anonymous user posting abusive or mean comments on your blog? Did you see a photo that you posted privately, ‘going viral’ on another website or profile? You are not alone. Identity theft, as this is commonly termed, happens to about five out of ten ‘Net Users’.

If you have ever experienced identity theft yourself or even know someone who has, you know the experience can be a harrowing one. Criminals in cyberspace can open accounts in your name and impersonate you for a multitude of reasons – none of which are good. While thieves have been performing identity theft for a long-time offline, the volume of personal information found online is astounding.

In this digital age, a would-be identity thief only needs to log in from the comfort of his or her home to do their misdeeds. This leaves the burden, of protecting your personal information while using the internet, upon your shoulders. The only perfect way to protect yourself online and prevent identity theft is to not use it at all, but since you are reading this, I assume that you are pretty net savvy and spend a good deal of time online. So here are some tips on how to stay safe and prevent online identity theft:

• Learn of the different do’s and don’ts on Internet so that you know what to avoid and how to identify and handle cyber bullying/ abuse.
• If a website/social media forum has an age restriction, respect it.
• If you receive an e-mail or link from an unidentified or unknown source do not open it. Else, ask for advice from a trusted adult.
• Beware of what information you give out about yourself and what you do, including photos and contact information.
• Ask a parent/trusted adult to help you with creating a child-friendly e-mail and social media accounts. These help filter inappropriate content.
• Institutions and Organizations can conduct workshops, create a curriculum for Netiquette (Internet do’s and don’ts), and appoint Cyber Monitors/Captains among students.

‘Be Safe in Cyberspace’ conducts comprehensive programs, in schools, to create awareness and offer ways to avoid, seen and unseen, dangers of the virtual world. The programs, which include workshops for students (of classes V – XII), parents and teachers and book reading sessions for children, empowers ‘netizens’ to safely tap the immense potential of the Internet.

Let us join hands and together create a Safer Cyberspace!