Technology & Science

An investigative podcast concerning cyberbullying

CyberBullyibg

Good evening and welcome to our show. Today, we're going to touch on one of the most serious problems in the online world: cyberbullying. In an age where technology has evolved to very high levels, cyberbullying seems to be one of the biggest problems in modern society. In this show, we will explain and describe the dangers lurking online, the most common cases of cyberbullying and how we can protect ourselves from them. Stay with us for a revealing discussion on a topic that concerns us all, especially children, teenagers particularly.
Cyberbullying is harassing, intimidating or humiliating someone via the internet, i.e. social media, messages or Email. It includes offensive comments, spreading false information, extortion and breach of personal data. It can cause serious psychological effects and must be treated immediately. Digital bullying can take two forms: direct cyberbullying and cyberbullying by proxy. In direct attack a minor targets others and directly harms them (with various types of digital attacks). In the case of proxy harassment, the bully uses third parties to achieve the bullying, whether they realize it or not. To make it easier to understand the seriousness of the matter, we will present some cases that have happened in the past:
1)	It is a fairly common practice for child bullies to take pictures of other children when they are in a changing room, bathroom or testing room, and then share them via the internet or mobile phone.
2)	At the end of September 2010, near the Grava school complex, during a fight between two high school female students, a 17-year-old girl who tried to separate them was stabbed. The reason for the dispute was the repeated posting of insulting comments, allegedly made by one of the two students about the other, on her Facebook page. The student who was holding the knife was arrested and taken to the juvenile section of Attica Security.
3)	Canada 2012: A 15-year-old girl was the victim of sexual extortion (sextortion) by a man who took nude photos of her and spread them on the Internet. She was then subjected to severe cyberbullying and eventually committed suicide. This case shocked the world and led to stricter laws on cyberbullying.
4)	A student committed suicide in 2017 after being verbally and cyberbullied, with her family claiming she was being blackmailed with pink videos. Her parents had begun to suspect that something was wrong with their daughter because she was always upset and closed off, but just before her suicide, the situation had worsened. When their suspicions were confirmed, she had sadly already died.
5)	12-year-old Alex became a victim of cyberbullying when his classmates created his own fake account, with his details, sharing embarrassing photos of himself and writing mocking and insulting comments about him. Cyberbullying was also accompanied by physical bullying. Unfortunately, Alex disappeared, and his mother was looking for him for a long time. It was eventually revealed that he had been murdered by his classmates.
6)	One of the most talked about incidents of cyberbullying involved a Canadian teenager who was vilified as the "Star Wars Kid" after millions of people downloaded a video that one of his classmates had edited and posted online. The video showed him re-enacting a scene from the popular film. The kid, who had filmed himself swinging a golf club instead of a lightsaber at home, became the laughingstock of his classmates and reportedly dropped out of school and received psychiatric help.
7)	In October 2023 in New York, United States, the entire educational community was upset by an unprecedented incident that happened at a high school in the Westfield area. A student had used an artificial intelligence website to make pornographic images using photos of female classmates and then shared them with other boys at school in group chats. When the girls discovered this fact, they were shocked and as their parents said they felt humiliated and powerless. Additionally, the parents themselves expressed their anxiety about the damage that may be caused to the girls if these images appear in the future.
From these cases we can understand how serious consequences digital bullying can have on children, which very often can develop into physical bullying and end up in physical violence. There are consequences not only for the victims, but also for the perpetrators of cyberbullying, as well as bystanders who remain uninvolved. These are some tips to stay safe in case of cyberbullying:
We do not respond to bullying messages.
We block the sender's access.
We retain and store messages or conversations for future complaints.
We do not promote messages or images and photos that could hurt someone's feelings. We think that if someone sends us a message and we forward it or laugh at it, we're essentially becoming part of bullying.
We report any form of bullying to our parents or other adults we trust.
In general, if someone is a victim of digital bullying, they should definitely talk to someone - a friend, a teacher, their parents - and not keep it a secret. Only in this way will the chain of digital bullying be broken.
This concludes episode 2 of our Safer Internet podcast series. Stay tuned to 

An investigative podcast, concerning the creation of fake profiles on the internet

Fake profiles

Good evening and welcome to our show. Today, we're opening a discussion on one of the most pressing questions of the digital world: contact with fake profiles. The creation of fake profiles, in social media, can have a significant impact on individuals and the online community as a whole, and is one of the biggest problems of modern society. Join us for a revealing discussion on a topic that concerns us all.
Contacting with fake profiles occurs when someone creates an account with fake information (first and last name, age, location or photos) and makes requests to other users, usually to take advantage of them. Many children, as well as adults, fall into the trap of chatting with strangers, not knowing them in life outside the internet. Users who display fake profiles often take advantage of the bad spirit or naivety of their victims in order to: a) steal identity or credit and debit card information, b) extort personal information from them, c) share false information or photos, d) for digital bullying, e) for financial fraud, etc.
To make it easier to understand the seriousness of the matter, we will present some cases that have happened in the past:
First case. Army doctor fake profile scam: According to reports, fraudsters are creating fake profiles on social media platforms with the aim of deceiving and extorting money from victims. Fraudsters often pretend to be prestigious professionals, such as doctors or military personnel, serving in missions abroad. They primarily approach women, expressing romantic interest and develop a relationship of trust. After some time, they ask for financial assistance, citing various excuses, such as medical expenses or need for permission to return home. Many women have fallen victim to this scam, sending money to strangers, believing they are helping the supposed military or doctor. These types of scams have become known as "romance scams".
Second case. It is very common for an adult through various applications, for example the snapchat application, to pose as a child to approach another child and under the pretext of meeting up close to play ball or some other game, when they finally find themselves abducted.
Third case. Minors created a fake profile of a 13-year-old on social media, trapping a 41-year-old. More specifically, two 17-year-olds created a fake profile with the details of a 13-year-old girl on a social networking platform and got in touch with the 41-year-old's profile. After the two sides chatted for a short time, the 41-year-old sent the alleged 13-year-old audiovisual pornographic material and a meeting was set up. The two 17-year-olds, after informing him of the material in their possession, blackmailed him by asking him for money in order not to inform the police. Thus, the young men were subsequently arrested for revenge pornography and extortion by complicity.
Fourth case. The revelations about the horrible case in Colonos, where a 44-year-old man allegedly repeatedly raped a 16-year-old woman, who previously had a relationship with his son, are taking the form of an avalanche. The perpetrator seems to be preparing the ground for the "time of crisis", as he had made sure to create a fake profile of the minor on social media. From this profile a friend of his was sending him messages, allegedly sent by the 16-year-old, to make it appear that she was approaching him sexually.
Fifth case. The life of a 34-year-old woman in Chalkida turned into a nightmare after her ex-husband created a fake profile on dating sites with her details. The 34-year-old, who is also the mother of an 8-year-old girl, filed a lawsuit against him, as he created the fake profile shortly before the divorce was finalized, to get revenge on her, because they were separated.
From these cases we can understand how serious the consequences of contact with users who have created fake profiles can be. In case you realize that you have added a fake profile to your friends, then you must react immediately. The user may be pranking you, but it is possible that they have other purposes. For your protection, it is important to:
You are wary of people you only know online, especially if they ask for personal information or money. 
Verify the person's identity through trusted sources before trusting or sending money. 
You must unfriend him (i.e. delete him as a friend) so that he does not have access to your personal data
It would also be good to block him (so that he cannot see your profile at all) and report (that is, report to Facebook that this person has a fake profile). If the profile has enough reports against it from other users, then it is automatically closed.
Avoid sending money or personal information to people you have not met personally.
At the same time, minors should be particularly protected from exposure to facebook, as several malicious users may be caught. Never make a date with a user you suspect, but even if you do make sure to be in a public place.
Report suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities, such as Cybercrime Prosecution.
This concludes episode 3 of our Safer Internet podcast series. Stay tuned to hear the remaining episodes of the series. Thank you for listening. Online First, Finally.



A series of investigative podcasts created by the students of the 6th class of the first Primary School of Vyronas concerning Safer Internet, and in particular Social Networks.

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