Lhe digital offenses observed in France increased by 40% between 2009 and 2013. A trend revealed last July in a report published by the Ministry of the Interior. A phenomenon which naturally does not spare the west of Béarn. “Cyber delinquency represents almost half of the incidents observed by our company since the start of the year,” indicates Commander Rémi Galhié. No less than 40% to be exact.
From harassment to ransomware, theft of personal data or scams, the perpetrators of these misdeeds are frequently beyond the reach of French investigators. “The best solution is prevention in order to instill vigilant behavior,” explains the officer. One after the other, the target audiences of these cyber offenders are made aware of the dangers of the Internet by the soldiers of Orthez.
The impact of the uniform on teenagers
After local authorities, businesses and seniors, the Orthez gendarmerie company is extending its prevention action to adolescents. In Mourenx last year and at the Fébus college in Orthez this Tuesday, November 5.
“We obviously hold this message of vigilance with our students, but the uniform is much stronger in understanding the risks they run,” confides the principal of the school complex, Laurent Tourneur. The 210 3rd and 4th grade students will have heard the police's presentation on the dangers of the web.
“Who has a smartphone? Who surfs social networks,” begins police officer Mattéo Bouvier in front of the young audience. The entire room, or almost, raised their hands to the two questions. So many potential prey for cybercriminals. For an hour, the military duo multiplies examples of local facts to impress their audience and distribute their advice for vigilance.
Photos of naked teenage girls
Middle school students will thus be marked by the story of this thirty-year-old who in 2022 came into contact with around a hundred young girls from Orthez and its surrounding areas, aged 12 to 17, via the Snapchat network. The delinquent posed as a teenager and his speech gave his prey confidence so that they would send him naked photos of themselves. A recurring scenario to then blackmail his victim. “Never take naked photos or videos,” insist the gendarmes.
Even adults. The brigade no longer counts the complaints of ex-spouses, of jilted lovers who take revenge by broadcasting intimate images of their former half. “Be careful with the personal information you post on social networks. The more you give, the more vulnerable you are,” continues chef Laurent Firquet, who invites teenagers to configure their profile so that only their real friends have access to it.
And the tandem tackles geolocation enabled by teenagers' favorite network, Snapchat. “What’s the point of sharing your location in real time with your friends? », asks the non-commissioned officer. The information can in any case be very useful for a host of delinquents. As for cyberharassment, Constable Bouvier emphasizes that it starts with a simple text message.
“Even if you send just one slightly unpleasant message to a student, you are a harasser. Because if he receives it from 60 people, this attack could lead him to suicide. We are not joking about this and we will seek out the 60 authors of the messages to have them convicted,” warns the gendarme. On the menu: two years in prison and a 30,000 euro fine.
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