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Beware of paedophiles seeking nudes from children during online classes


The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has issued a red alert over increased reports of offences against children during online learning.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DCI said perpetrators of these offences have taken advantage of the online learning programme – which many learning institutions currently using to teach – to lure children for exploitation.

REQUESTS FOR NUDES

“In four such reported cases, the predators sent children messages in their inboxes complimenting their looks then after gaining their trust, went ahead to ask them for their nude images among other despicable acts,” DCI said.

“Our detectives have also received and are actively investigating other cases of similar nature, from different parts of the country,” DCI further said.

Kenyans have been urged to report any offence committed against a child to the Child Protection Unit through the toll free line 116 or report to the nearest police station for action.

Affected parents have also been urged not to withhold such information.

“We urge parents to, where possible, furnish our officers with details of the perpetrators such as the user names, phone numbers, email and social media accounts that have been in contact with their children,” said the DCI.

MONITOR YOUR CHILD

Parents and guardians have further been advised to constantly monitor the whereabouts of their children at all times and be wary of the content they access online, since most of it would not only be harmful and detrimental to their lives but could lead to dire consequences such as kidnappings, defilement or even death.

In April, as Zoom usage soared amid the Covid-19 lockdowns, the multi-participant video streaming tool released a new, large scale update that aims to address its various security and privacy concerns, which have come into much sharper focus in recent weeks.

Zoom reported a maximum of 10 million daily users back in December, but this skyrocketed to more than 200 million daily meeting participants in March amidst the global pandemic.

Some companies have told their staff to stay off the video conferencing service due to security concerns.