Police boss highlights need to combat cyber crime

National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen on Saturday spoke about the need to combat cyber crime during the Police Day event at Hamina Market Square, said a police press release.

“Criminals fish for online banking IDs and set up order traps that are suspiciously cheap. It’s possible to violate someone’s honour online, spread misinformation, commit fraud with someone else’s personal identity code or blackmail with illegally obtained photographs,” Kolehmainen said in his speech.

The police boss also spoke about the threat of child grooming.

“Enticing children online, so-called grooming, is a big cause for worry and the threat of ending up as a victim of a sexual crime is real. While we must safeguard the investigation of these crimes and help for the victims, we must also pay special attention to preventing these crimes in advance. Taking care of children and young people is a task that belongs to all of us," he said.

According to Kolehmainen, our society is so networked that anyone can end up being a victim of cybercrime, even if they never use social media or the Internet.

“Cybercrimes can manifest themselves by, for example, an ordinary citizen not being able to access health care, because the city’s data systems have been hijacked, which partly prevents the use of health-care services. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and robotics, with all their wonderful opportunities, will certainly be harnessed even for criminal activities in the future,” he stated.

Kolehmainen emphasised the need to combat cybercrimes in advance.“You should be cautious of online contact requests from unknown sources. Never give out your personal information to strangers. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a cybercrime, I encourage you to always notify the police,” the National Police Commissioner said.

The event was organised by Southeastern Finland Police Department.