533 people sought online safety support from helpline

Between 1 July and 30 September, a total of 533 individuals contacted the 1480 helpline, which aims to provide counselling and support on the safe, responsible, and ethical use of the internet and digital technologies. 

According to a report released on Thursday, 78.6 per cent of the calls related to the services provided by the helpline, which 21.4 per cent sought information on benefits granted by the labour ministry.

The service is available to children, teenagers, parents, educators, and the general public.

Of the calls that were relevant to the helpline’s services, 54.6 per cent were from women, while the remaining were from men.

The vast majority of callers – 99.1 per cent – were adults, with only 0.9 per cent being minors who sought help regarding personal internet-related difficulties, such as cyberbullying.

Additionally, just 1.2 per cent of the calls from adults came from parents or guardians and educators, concerning online difficulties faced by teenagers.

Most of the requests – 79.2 per cent – involved cybercrime incidents, including privacy breaches, hacking, financial fraud, or identity theft via social media or email.

Another 10.5 per cent of the calls related to technical support, while 3.3 per cent concerned ‘sextortion’ cases and a further 3.3 per cent involved cyberbullying.

A smaller percentage, 1.7 per cent involved privacy violations, specifically the use of individuals’ information to create fake accounts or the unauthorised publication of their material by others.

During the three-month period, cases of fake or misleading profiles were also reported, with posts intended to harass and intimidate. The helpline’s staff provided appropriate counselling, psychological support, and worked with the relevant authorities for further assistance.

In additon, there were reports of people falling victim to scams via misleading social media posts encouraging them to invest, resulting in significant financial losses. In these instances, the helpline advised the callers to immediately contact their banks to cancel any disclosed banking information and report the incidents to the police cybercrime unit, urging greater caution when sharing personal information online.

Furthermore, there were reports of fraudulent WhatsApp calls where individuals posed as police officers, asking people for personal information, such as their ID documents.

The service is available to all people, free of charge and anonymously, either by calling 1480, sending an email to 1480helpline@cyearn.pi.ac.cy, or using the online form or chat service on https://www.cybersafety.cy/.