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 1st quarter of 2023 (1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023) (https:/cybersafety.cy/stats/). The 1480 Helpline aims to provide children, young people, parents, teachers and the general public with advice and support services regarding the safe, responsible and ethical use of the Internet and digital technologies.
From 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023, a total of 561 people contacted the 1480 Helpline. Of the total number of calls, 59 calls (10.51%) were not related to the services provided by Helpline 1480 and related to information on, inter alia, benefits and assistance from the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Security (MOLSA) Mr.
Of the 502 persons who contacted the services of the Helpline 1480, 61.35% (308 persons) were female and 38.65% (194 persons) were male.
Of the 502 persons who contacted the services of the Helpline 1480, 61.35% (308 persons) were female and 38.65% (194 persons) were male. In terms of the profile of callers, the majority of people who called for help and support were adults at 99% (497 people). Only 5 people, out of a total of 502 callers, i.e. 1%, were minors (up to 18 years old) who called the 1480 Helpline to report personal difficulties on the Internet.
Regarding the reasons for contacting the Helpline, the majority of requests were related to cybercrime incidents, 301 (59.96%), i.e. dealing with privacy violation (hacking), financial fraud or identity theft, via social networks or email. At the same time, a significant number of calls to the Helpline - Helpline 1480, concerned issues falling under the category of technical support, 97 (19.32%).
At the same time, 43 requests (8.56%) concerned data privacy complaints, specifically cases of use of callers' information to create accounts or illegal publication of callers' material by other users.
It is worth noting that, there was a slight increase in the reporting of incidents of sexual blackmail (sextortion) (4.58%), which increased to 1.59% compared to the corresponding report last year. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the number of calls to the 1480 Helpline for incidents involving the Line's services for Q1 2023 shows a significant increase, compared to the same period last year (502 in 2023 compared to 402 in 2022). This finding attests to the successful operation of the 1480 Helpline and attests to the public's significant acceptance and confidence in it.
The Helpline 1480, aiming to provide continuous and quality advice and support, on issues related to the 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 comply with National Law and are interwoven with the aspect of awareness and direct service.
All citizens can contact the 1480 Helpline by calling, free of charge, 1480 (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).
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