PARENTS TOLD TO BE ALERT TO CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES TO PREVENT CYBERCRIME

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Parents are urged to watch for changes in their children’s routines or behaviour to help prevent them from falling victim to online sexual offences and sextortion.

Bukit Aman’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division D11 principal assistant director SAC Siti Kamsiah Hassan warned that cyber threats can now reach homes through digital devices, showing that the current crime trend is no longer limited to public spaces.

She said parents should pay attention to shifts in their children’s behaviour, particularly if they become less physically active and spend more time on online platforms and games.

“Kids used to spend their time playing outside, like football, but now they’re more into the digital world. Parents need to know who they’re friends with and who’s in their digital circle.

“Never assume that a child who keeps to their room is a ‘good child’. Parents still need to monitor their activities,” she said after attending the “Internet Selamat, Tanggungjawab Semua” forum in conjunction with Safer Internet Day (HKI) 2026 at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa here today.

HKI 2026, organised by the Ministry of Communications and spearheaded by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), is held in conjunction with International Safer Internet Day, observed every year in over 170 countries.

Siti Kamsiah cautioned that emotional changes in children, such as social withdrawal, frequent crying, or signs of depression, could be early warning signs of sextortion.

“We’ve seen that in the past, victims were often more isolated, and some cases went on for up to three months. There were also big changes in their behaviour and emotions, like frequent crying.

“This change usually happens after the victim has been groomed, which can lead to sextortion,” she said.

In a related development, Siti Kamsiah revealed that sexual crimes involving children have risen sharply, with an average of 1,500 cases reported nationwide each year.

According to her, many cases are only detected at the final stage, when victims may be pregnant,, have fled home, or are noticed by third parties such as doctors or schools.

“Children can be approached and manipulated through devices. If parents don’t spot changes in behaviour early, the risk of mental stress or even self-harm is very high,” she said.

In this regard, Siti Kamsiah advised parents not to take things for granted and to equip themselves with digital parenting knowledge to tackle the challenges posed by increasingly complex cybercrime trends.

She said the matter was especially important, pointing out that many cases involved child sexual crimes, with evidence including the seizure of more than 880,000 digital files containing child sexual abuse material during the integrated Ops Pedo 2.0 as of September last year.

--BERNAMA