The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is increasingly dealing with cases where high school children fall victim to child pornography and sex-related scams, it was revealed at the Safer Internet Day Forum hosted by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).

Chekesha McPhee, head of the police’s digital forensic and investigation unit in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID, said she hopes students will learn to be more aware and make safer decisions while online. She said high school students are being scammed, adding: “We have a lot of matters where mostly high school students are becoming victim to online scams.”

When asked by reporters what kind of scams high school students have been falling victim to most frequently, Ms McPhee answered: “In terms of child pornography and sex

“With any social media platform you have to be a certain age, and the certain age is the age of 18 and over,” she added. “And so for the kids who are in high school, nine times out of ten, they are under the age of 18. And the reason why I believe social media put that rule in place is because at that age you'll be more responsible. So I feel as if the parents also need to play a part in what social media platform their kids are part of.

“For parents with kids, I would advise parents to please check their kids’ online platform every day. Do not let them know when you want to take their phone. You just go and do a random check on your phone. Parents should have the pass code for their kids’ phones. Parents, please stalk your kids on a daily basis, because when you're asleep, your children are on their phone doing all kinds of things they should not be doing. So my advice to parents is to please make checks on your kids’ social media presence every day.”

Ms McPhee said Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook and Discord are popular forms of social media among high schoolers, listing the latter as the number one platform where they get scammed.

Anton Rahming, assistant commissioner of police responsible for crime management and criminal investigation, warned students during the forum that while artificial intelligence (AI) can be an incredible tool, criminals are also using it to commit cyber crimes.

Recalling an AI-generated deep fake of John Rolle, the Central Bank governor, that was in circulation recently, Mr Rahming said there are many similar incidents occurring and they police are actively investigating the reports that come in.

“Our financial crimes investigation branch and our cyber crime team work every day to trace digital footprints, analyse evidence and collaborate with international law enforcement partners to identify and pursue these offenders, even when they are operating outside of The Bahamas,” he added. 

Mr Rahming said AI has personalised phishing scams, and is able to create messages free of grammar errors and using Bahamian slang, making it all the more difficult to decipher whether it is real.

Embracing technology, real time crime monitoring systems, video and data analysis, and the exploration of AI has helped the police to detect patterns and strengthen investigations, Mr Rahming said. He added that they also partner with other agencies and organisations.

“We are not just reacting. We are becoming proactive, and every time someone reports a suspicious message, a strange voice note or potential scam, even if they don't or didn't lose any money, it makes a real difference,” he said. “Those reports help us to connect the dots, build stronger cases, disrupt criminal networks and protect more people in our community.”

Mr Rahming, noting that he has seen students lose access to their Snapchat accounts and gaming profiles through scammers pretending to be classmates or group administrators, advised students to double check and verify odd calls and voice notes, especially those asking for money.

He suggested that they not click on unknown links but report them instead. Mr Rahming also encouraged students to protect their online information by having strong passwords, two factor authentication and privatising their social media settings. 

Shervin Evans, information and communications technology (ICT) and cyber security head with 21st Century Cyber Security, stressed the importance of having an event such as the Safer Internet Day forum because it helps young Bahamians understand that their digital footprint cannot be erased and therefore they must be careful of what they put online.

“It's no longer where you can actually walk out there and just put stuff out there not to believe that it will come back to you. We have to realise that your 12-year-old self can affect your 18-year-old future. So you have to be very careful what you do at 12, because at 18 when it’s time to look for a job, it will come back up,” Mr Evans said.

“When it's time to go to a university, it will come back. And then when you want a visa to go to the United States, they'll say, 'Give me all of your social media profile.' And then when they give you those profile, and they see about these things that you were rejected from this school, you're rejected from this job. I'm being rejected for a visa because of what I did at 12 years-old. 

“Events like these help our students, our Bahamian students, to make the right decision, to let them know that what you post out there is critical. You need to be careful and realise that digital footprints cannot be erased. It's out there forever.”

Mr Evans said a lot of persons still need to be educated about cyber security, pointing to breaches that occurred in other countries and their impact on The Bahamas.

“We have to realise that we are playing inside a bigger pool where we are all interconnected right now, and we will be affected by what's happening inside some other countries,” he said. Mr Evans added that he and his daughter have a podcast where they break down, in 30-minute segments, information on how to protect yourself online.

BTC’s chief executive, Sameer Bhatti, said Safer Internet Day is recognised in 170 countries. “That means this is not just a local thing. This is a global thing and a global need. The Internet has opened doors to creativity, entrepreneurship… in the classroom, faster learning, learning with colleagues around the world in different ways; different ways to collaborate,” he added.

“But it's also introduced some risks as well. Cyber crime is misinformation and misuse of AI and machine learning, and these can have large detriments to society. It can be a powerful tool when used responsibly, but when not, it can be misused with scams, impersonation and false information. 

“BTC understands these risks, and the rewards and benefits, but recognises our responsibility goes beyond connectivity. So we're committed to ensuring, as we build faster networks and smarter cities, we're also building knowledge resilience and digital confidence among our youth. Each of you here is a digital citizen. Our goal here isn't to tell you what to do, but empower you so you can be more confident online and make safer choices.”