11 Dec 2024

Cybersmart Botswana, in collaboration with Botswana Police Service (BPS), the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) and the Botswana Fiber Networks (BOFINET), has embarked on a roadshow to raise awareness on the rising incidents of cybercrime in the country. 

Cybersmart Botswana Programme Coordinator, Mr David Moepeng said though it had a lot of positives, cyber technology also had proven to be used for the wrong reasons. 

He said technology was now used for corruption and other criminal activities. 

“People now steal and rob banks using cyber technology”, he added. 

He advised Batswana on the dangers of sharing personal information on the Internet and said criminals could try to use the information to scam an individual.

He also cautioned young people from posting explicit information on social media platforms. 

“What you post on social media stays there forever and you will forever be remembered for that, so create a good name for yourself,” added Mr Moepeng. 

He, however, noted that cyber technology could be effective when used for the right purposes. 

Such opportunities, he said included looking job opportunities online and also to acquiring information concerning what was happening around the globe. 

He added that cyber technology could also be used to create educational activities. 

“Cyber technology allows lifelong learning to evolve from a mere concept to an achievable reality”, he said. 

For her part, BotswanaPolice Service Northern Divisional Fraud Unit, Sergeant Masego Tabengwa, said it was important to be mindful of cybercrimes especially this time of the year as criminal activities were on the rise. 

Sergeant Tabengwa said of late, pensioners were loosing their money to fraudsters who were pretending to be from pension organisations. 

She advised Batswana to stop giving their personal information to people they do not know as they compromised their security. Ends