Two reports in the Daily News on Wednesday were strong reminders of the wonders and pitfalls of that communications tool that has changed the world, the internet.
There was the Dutch organisation, Terre de Hommes, which created a 10-year-old virtual girl named Sweetie, who was used to draw out and trace paedophiles.
They flocked to that website from all over the world – 20 000 perverts in 10 weeks. More than 100 000 sexual requests were made of Sweetie. It was sick, an awful reflection on twisted predators constantly on the prowl for young, human prey.
Then there was a report airing a caution from the Department of Higher Education – there were four fake Facebook sites impersonating Minister Blade Nzimande.
His colleague, Women’s Minister Lulu Xingwana, has also had a bogus page. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s name has been misused, too, in a bribe-seeking ruse on social media.
And official-looking letters purporting to be from the Speaker of Parliament, the SA Revenue Service, other domestic and foreign agencies, and banks are everyday traps.
These incidents illustrate that the security of offices and homes, where the internet is largely accessed, is an illusion. Interacting on the internet is even less secure than talking to strangers at random on, say, a crowded railway station concourse at peak hour.
It has revolutionised communication, but the two hoax episodes reported on Wednesday drove home its dangers. It is a boon. It is also the hunting ground of tricksters and the most wicked types who lurk on it, such as Sweetie’s admirers.
And it is both a trove of endless, instant know-ledge and a platform for dud information and fabrication, where there is often no filter on what is posted on it.
Enjoy it, but take care out there.