Public warned to know cybercrimes law or face the penalties when breached

Vincentians are being warned that they can find themselves on the wrong side of the Cybercrime law by committing certain acts which many deem ‘normal’ such as searching their partner’s phone, as well as sharing sexual images of children.

They are also being cautioned against careless online behaviours such as making purchases from fraudulent accounts, as reports of online scamming are on the increase.

This advice from Corporal Aleea Stapleton of the Information Technology Department in the Royal St Vincent and Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF).

Speaking on WEFM’s Cop Chat programme, Corporal Stapleton said the issue of cybercrime has always been an issue in SVG, so much so that the government moved to enact the legislation in 2016.

The officer said persons in intimate relationships search the phones of their partners and send photos and videos to themselves without realizing that they can be charged for illegal entry into a device.

“The thing that a lot of people don’t understand with this charge, even though we are dating and normally you have access to my phone. If you do so with the intention of doing something and I don’t give you permission to enter my device, that is literally an offense.”

When relations break up … “and you know your boyfriend has these videos or photos on his phone and you don’t want to leave knowing that he had these and you want to go in and delete them, it is basically illegal if you do so.”

Corporal Stapleton also commented on the “burning issue” of Vincentians sharing child pornography, stating that many persons are forwarding sexually explicit images and videos of minors.

“Even though you are not the author of the video, and the video has been sent to you, passing it on implicates you. You are not supposed to share it. By sharing it you are party to the activity and you could be charged- whether its sexual harassment by electronic communication, or violation of privacy. Where child photography is concerned, by keeping the video on your phone, having the video in your phone implicates you.”

The Police Corporal explained that child pornography includes materials that depict children in a sexually explicit way, using a child’s face on a sexual image on an adult’s body, using parts of a child’s body that have been altered by artificial intelligence, and also depicting someone as a child in a sexual act.

“They don’t have to be naked, just being in a sexually explicit post, you can be implicated,” he stressed.
Under the CyberCrime Act, child pornography carries the stiffest penalties, with offenders being charged up to $3,000 or sent to prison for seven years, or both. If it is an indictable charge, penalties can be $750,000 or 20 years in prison, or both.

Stapleton revealed that the ID Department has been receiving increased reports of persons being scammed out of large sums of money as a result of not doing thorough research when using online sites.

“We have seen increased reports of persons going to platforms that they are not familiar with and spending their monies. In the past couple weeks, we have had five reports, that I can account for, where people have been attempting to purchase vehicles online and have sent their monies to businesses that do not exist.”