98.3 Radio Mirchi organises cybercrime awareness programme

Srinagar, Mar 17: 98.3 Radio Mirchi organised its first-of-its-kind, Nukad Natak on cybercrime awareness at Polo View here. The event marked the culmination of a month-long campaign, “Digidakku”.

Radio Mirchi collaborated with Shehjar Children Theatre Group. They performed under the guidance of theatre veteran, Hakeem Javed. It was a Kashmiri Nukkad Natak , spreading awareness on the increase in digital scams .

“While the 59-crore scam recently rocked Kashmir, the truth is that the increase in cybercrime cases has become a grim reality. In fact, in an online poll that I conducted on my social media page, 80 percent participants shared that they had either been victims or knew people who had fallen prey to cybercrimes”, said R J Mehak.

RJ Mehak and RJ Vijdan have been breaking down the most common scams on radio for the past month to ensure that people don’t get scammed.

“In the past month, I have interviewed various cyber crime experts, including bankers, lawyers and digital experts to not only tell people how to be cyber safe but also share relevant laws and reminders to immediately get in touch with cyber police in case an incident occurs”, said Mehak.

“While we are embracing the digital world, it is very important to understand how strong passwords, not sharing otp and never clicking on unknown links is crucial to protect our accounts, KYC update calls , threats of disconnection mobile services , electricity and other SMS scams are being used to skim people.”

Mehak spoke about how new times also meant new crimes. “While elderly have embraced digital payments, they are unaware of the frauds that are being committed, on my show I received many calls from people sharing their stories, including several retired people who have just started using phones to make payments and often become soft targets.”

“98.3 Radio Mirchi has used several quirky jingles and songs to grab attention and tell people how to be cyber safe. To spread awareness on the ground, the Kashmiri term “waas e gagur” was used to describe the new age thieves and connect with everyone and especially the elderly,” the organisers said in a statement.