The Cyprus Pedagogical Institute of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, as coordinator of the Cyprus Internet Safety Centre - CYberSafety (https:/www.cybersafety.cy) and the 1480 Helpline, provides the update statistics, for the 4th quarter of 2022 (1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022) (https:/cybersafety.cy/stats/). The 1480 Helpline aims to provide children, young people, parents, teachers and the general public with advice and support services on the safe, responsible and ethical use of the Internet and digital technologies.
From 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022, a total of 591 people contacted the 1480 Helpline.
From 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022, a total of 591 people contacted the 1480 Helpline. 84 calls (14.2%), out of the total number of calls, were not related to the services provided by Helpline 1480 and concerned information on, among other things, benefits and aids of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Security Mr.
With regard to the 507 incidents concerning the services of the 1480 Helpline, 58.6% of the callers (297 callers) were female and 41.4% of the callers (210 callers) were male. In terms of the profile of callers, the majority who called for help and support were adults at 99.2% (503 callers). Only 4 people, out of a total of 507 callers, i.e. 0.8%, 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 1480 Helpline, most of the requests were related to cybercrime incidents (38.9%), i.e. dealing with hacking, financial fraud, etc. The number of cybercrime reports, in the relevant quarterly report, remains the top reporting problem, compared to the corresponding quarterly report in 2021 and the previous quarterly report in 2022, and mainly related to password interception and illegal access to Social Media. Callers mainly reported receiving messages from profiles belonging to their online friends group, which appeared to have been hacked as well, telling them that they no longer had access to their email or mobile phone and asking them to send the verification code to their mobile phone to help them recover their account. As a result, the callers forwarded the relevant code, thus enabling access and hacking of their account.
In the relevant cases, the hotline operators guided the process of recovering the accounts through relevant identification and informed the callers that it is necessary to be careful with people communicating with them or with messages (emails, sms, etc.).etc.), received from social networking services, public or non-public bodies and banking companies, requesting access or identification/confirmation of their details (e.g, password, social security number, credit card number). The importance of not taking any action and contacting individuals or relevant companies and agencies directly, investigating the credibility of the requests, was stressed. In addition, the importance of not trusting messages requesting money, offering gifts, etc. and strengthening their security settings by, inter alia, activating two-factor authentication was noted.
Additionally, a large number of calls to the Line were related to issues falling under the digital literacy/education category (25.6%), which is a significant increase compared to both the 2021 quarterly report and the previous 2022 quarterly report. This seems to demonstrate the need for public awareness of digital literacy skills and the importance of support for the safe and responsible use of digital technology and the internet.
In addition, a significant number of calls to the Line related to incidents of cyberbullying (11.8%), which is at the same level, compared to the corresponding quarterly report in 2021, but significantly increased, compared to the previous quarterly report in 2022, demonstrating that cyberbullying remains a timeless problem, for which further and more intensive efforts should be made to raise awareness and awareness.
It is important to note that the number of calls to the 1480 Helpline, for the 4th quarter of 2022 (October - December), shows a significant increase, compared to the same period last year. This finding attests to the successful operation of the 1480 Helpline and demonstrates the successful dissemination of its purpose and services. In addition, the increasing trend in calls to the 1480 Helpline confirms the public's considerable acceptance and confidence in it.
All citizens can contact the 1480 Helpline by calling, free of charge, the 1480 number (opening hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 13:00 & 15:00 - 18:00, and Saturday 10:00 - 13:00) or by sending an email to 1480helpline@cyearn.pi.ac.cy as well as via an online form (https:/www.cybersafety.cy/helpline-report) or via chat (https:/www.cybersafety.cy/helpline-chat).
IP
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