Police cadets support Get Safe Online Week

Greater Manchester Police has launched a campaign to raise awareness of how people can stay safe online.

The Force is supporting national Get Safe Online Week which starts today (Monday 21 October 2013) and is aiming to make people more aware of online crime and how they can protect themselves.

As part of the initiative Greater Manchester Police cadets from Tameside have provided simple tips about online safety that can be accessed through the website and will be circulated through social networks.

Detective Superintendent Mark Smith, GMP Director of Intelligence and lead for cyber policing, said:"Staying safe online is becoming a major issue for everyone but particularly for many young people. We are all living more of our lives online, buying things, sharing information about ourselves and are being sent spam emails.

"The important thing is to be alert to the scams and what people are trying to do to steal your money or your identity. We will keep people updated about any new problems that emerge providing updates through the web pages."

A new Staying Safe Online section on the GMP Internet site includes details of online security issues and advice about what to do to protect yourself and your family. You can find it at www.gmp.police.uk . It also provides links to websites with more detailed information about everything from cyber bullying to online scams.

Latest figures show that 80 per cent of homes in the UK have Internet access and one in four people don't bother with online privacy settings.

Det Supt Smith added: "If we stay alert we can protect ourselves and others. I hope people will let us know about any scams or issues they come across so we can make others aware."