A total of 604 people contacted the Helpline -Helpline 1480 in the period from 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021 and it was found to have doubled, in absolute number, compared to the same period last year, the incidents of sexual blackmail (sextortion), according to the statistics announced by the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, as coordinator of the Cyprus Internet Safety Centre - CYberSafety (https:/www.cybersafety.cy) and the 1480 Helpline.
262 calls (43.40%)[/B], out of the total number of calls, were not related to the services provided by the 1480 Helpline and concerned information on, among other things, the pandemic, benefits and allowances of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance (YEPKA), etc, As specified in the announcement.
With regard to the 342 cases involving the services of Helpline 1480, 56.43% (193 persons), were girls/women and 43.57% (149 persons), were boys/men. In terms of the profile of the callers, the majority of people who called for help and support were adults at 97.10% (337 people). Only 5 people, out of a total of 342 callers, i.e. 2.90%, were minors (up to 18 years old), who used the 1480 Helpline to report personal difficulties on the Internet.
Regarding the reasons for contacting the Helpline, most requests were related to cybercrime incidents (30.12%), i.e. dealing with privacy violations (hacking), financial fraud, etc. In addition, a large number of calls to Helpline 1480 were related to issues falling under the digital literacy/education category (17.25%), which was up, compared to the same period last year, but also consistently high compared to all 2021 quarterly reports.
This seems to demonstrate the need for public awareness of digital literacy skills and the importance of support for safe and responsible use of digital technology and the internet.
At the same time, a significant number of calls related to incidents of cyberbullying (14.62%), demonstrating that bullying is a long-standing problem for which further and more intensive efforts should be made to raise awareness and information.
It is worrying to note that, both in this period and in the previous 2021 quarterly reports, the number of incidents of sexual harassment (sending or sharing unwanted relevant content and comments, impersonation of individuals with the intention of damaging their reputation through sexual harassment, etc.Finally, a significant increase
[/P]Finally, there was a significant increase in reporting of sexual blackmail (sextortion) incidents (9.07%), which doubled, in absolute number, compared to last year's report, but also compared to the previous quarterly reports in 2021. The 1480 Helpline, aiming to provide continuous and quality advice and support, on issues related to safe, responsible and ethical use of the Internet, to children, adolescents and their families, continues to provide its services, with the basic principle of ensuring that its services are in accordance with National Law and are interwoven with the aspect of awareness and direct service.
Allcitizens can contact the 1480 Helpline by calling, free of charge, 1480 (opening hours: Monday Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) or by sending an email to 1480helpline@cyearn.pi.ac.cy as well as via online form (https:/www.cybersafety.cy/helpline-report) or chat (https:/www.cybersafety.cy/helpline-chat).
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