The college of education for women at the University of Baghdad, in collaboration with Al-Jawhara Organization for Education and Public Services (NGO) and the Public Relations and Media Department at the Ministry of Interior and the Community Policing (CP) held a seminar on “The role of community awareness in reducing cyber extortion”. The lecturers tried to introduce the concept of electronic blackmail and the psychological characteristics of both those who commit this crime and the victims, as well as the motives behind this phenomenon with their psychological and social repercussions on society to find the appropriate solutions.
Then a number of recommendations were presented, such as increasing the awareness of the community and students on the dangers of cyber-extortion and ways to avoid and combat this flawed behavior to prevent its spread in the country, since it is regarded as a crime in accordance with the article (430) of the Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, and to encourage the victims to seek assistance quickly and the role played by the community policing in providing protection in a friendly, confidential and judicial manner on request. It is noteworthy that the lecturers stressed also on the use of internet for scientific and positive purposes and to stay away from suspicious sites and to ensure the ability of the Iraqi security forces and legal agencies in pursue of criminals and punish them, as well as the need for activating the role of social researchers in secondary schools to address such cases, since this behavior is targeted towards adolescents and young people and to formulate a legislation to reduce the underage marriage in Iraq, stating that this group of females lack maturity and often resorts to forming illegal relationships and be vulnerable to exploitation.
