The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA)’s clarion call to members of the public to desist from posting their personal details such as National Registration Cards (NRCs) and
voters’ cards on social media should be heeded.
Many a time, members of the public have been careless to share their personal information on social media, making the internet a fertile source for hackers to search for victims of internet scams.
We thus hail ZICTA’s programme meant to create awareness on the other side of the net.
The public should be aware that putting personal information on the net exposes them to unscrupulous people who can use this information to identify and find out where they are.
This includes obvious things like your full name and address, and some less-obvious things like your car’s plate number or what your occupation is.
Since the coming of the computer, cyber criminals have devised new ways of conning internet users and will use everything they know about you to trick or even harm you.
Releasing your personal information just makes it much easier for them to get ‘closer’ to you cyberly.
They might even try to find out where you live and break into your house, or try to steal your identity or your money if you use online banking on any cyber transaction.
Cyber criminals might even lie to you about how old they are and try to get you to meet with them in person to hurt or even kidnap you.
Numerous scams both in Zambia and abroad have been unearthed where cyber criminals have pounced after many days, months or even years of waiting.
Since cyber crime is a new thing in countries like Zambia, even legal authorities need training on how this new form of crime works for successful prosecution.
The first lesson to avoid being a victim is to be highly sceptical of any cyber transaction especially if it involves money exchanging hands.
The other safe rule is to keep changing your internet personal details and only alerting close friends about this.
Since any internet user is a possible victim, one should bear in mind that the more personal information you reveal in the cyber space, the more danger you are putting yourself and your family in.
To be completely safe, you must judge whenever you click a button to post or send something, deciding if what you are sharing is safe and appropriate.
Remember, the world has become one global cyber village and the cyber Big Brother is always watching you.