mGovernment Magazine - Issue 25

XIX / 1

«Al Ameen» warns against giving children
leeway of turning hostage to the Internet
Warned that Children might be intellectually exploited by strangers
Dubai Police›s Al Ameen Service warned
parents against giving children leeway of
turning hostage to social networking sites
during the summer holiday, so as not to
be intellectually exploited by strangers,
especially when chatting via smart apps
or electronic games.
Al Ameen Service›s Media Office stressed
the importance of the role parents
should play to intellectually protect their
children from falling prey to strangers›
ideologies, and that they should not trust
those strangers or accept friend requests
from predators in order not to be easily
exploited or blackmailed.
Media Consultant Khalil Al Ali, senior
officer at Al Ameen Service said, “Many
children spend most of their summer
vacation using smart apps, playing online
games, and on social media sites. Without
supervision, children may interact with
strangers, who want to take advantage of
them to get personal or family information
or data about their geographical location.”
Al Ali said that parents must warn their
children against watching films sent
by strangers, adding that such material
may encourage extremist thinking and
is a method to recruit them for extremist
causes. Parents should also keep an eye on
children and check the kind of religious
material they are reading online.
Al Ali added that those who have suffered
social interaction problems may easily be
affected by online predators, warning that
those predators «May take advantage of
the children’s personalities, making them
take a stand against society. This is why
it is imperative that parents talk to their
children about this issue.”
Victims of exploitation through social
networking sites or through electronic
gaming can get in touch with Al Ameen
Service via the toll-free number 8004888
by fax or phone, and if the victim is outside
the UAE, they can call: 888 004 718 009.
Al Ameen Service also receives text
messages from the public through number
or by using the social networking platforms
of “Twitter” and “Instagram”, through the @
alameenservice account, WhatsApp no:
00971508566657, BlackBerry service via a
personal identification code, in addition to
getting the service apps from «Black Perry,
Apple Store, Android «and finally through
the Smart Watch.