(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The ROP's Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigations has till September this year registered 147 cases wherein women have been blackmailed through social networking sites.
As part of the investigations 48 accused have been arrested by ROP in connection with these cases. The rest of the cases are being investigated the ROP has said. In several such cases perpetrators have threatened to make personal details of their targets public. A senior official from the criminal investigation department said that many cases go unreported because women do not come forward and register a complaint fearing pubic embarrassment.
'There are gangs who target women and girls and malign their reputation by capturing their images on mobile phones without their knowledge and circulating them on social media' said Om Alwaleed al Ajmi a woman employed in the private sector. She said such incidents are a matter of deep concern for women. 'All such cases amount to invasion of privacy. Girls and women should come forward to protect their rights' she added.
Advocate Gita who is on the legal panel of the Indian Embassy said 'Blackmailing women through the Internet and social media forums is occurring everywhere and Oman is not an exception to it. The best way to prevent this kind of blackmailing through technology is that women should be cautious while using social networking sites. Another way is to report the matter to law-enforcing agencies in the initial stage itself. This can help solve the problem thereby protecting the dignity of the victims.'
Advocate M K Prasad from Khalid al Wahaibi Advocates and Legal Consultants said 'Women have to be careful while replying to friendship requests from strangers. Secondly personal details like phone numbers and e-mail IDs should not be shared with strangers. Thirdly family-related problems and marital discords should not be discussed on the social media sites as they can be accessed by strangers who can take advantage.'
He added 'Strangers who have become friends through social networking sites should not be invited home. Above all women should be careful while interacting with people based outside the country. In case of any wrong-doing legal action will be limited if Oman does not have legal treaty with that particular country.' Meanwhile ROP has initiated a digital forensic cyber security course for staff to curb cyber crimes. The course covered ways to combat cyber attacks and methods to collect and use digital evidence.
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