A child goes missing every five hours in SA
What happens if your worst nightmare scenario of cyber predators, child trafficking, cyber bullies and children running away comes true? There is an app to help track your missing child!
A child goes missing every five hours in South Africa, according to a statement released by Kaspersky Lab, a global cybersecurity company.
Cyber predators, child trafficking, cyber bullies, and children running away make up a list of worst nightmare situations parents face, a list that is not easy to digest. So, what happens if your worst nightmare scenario comes true? And more importantly, what proactive measures have you taken to ensure you have mitigated as many risks as possible?
Lida Erasmus, a Gauteng mother, recently experienced her worst nightmare when her teenage daughter went missing, leaving her and her family worried sick, especially as they were not able to reach her.
“A few weekends ago, our daughter ran away with an unknown young man. Since this was completely out character for her, and as her mobile phone was switched off, I was going out of my mind, as any parent can imagine, thinking the worst and feeling absolutely helpless. I really didn’t know what to do,” said Erasmus.
However, being a parent in the digital age, Erasmus has always taken appropriate security measures when it comes to her family’s mobile devices and had installed the Kaspersky Safe Kids app onto her daughter’s mobile phone when she first received it.
Remembering the installed app, Erasmus realised she would be able to see if and when her daughter’s phone became active, and fortunately, the following morning, for a reason unknown to the family, the man who had Erasmus’s daughter switched her device back on. As soon as Erasmus saw that the device was once again active, and using the location tracking feature of the app, it only took five minutes to find her daughter’s location.
Surprisingly however, according to the Kaspersky Consumer Survey 2017, only 30,7 per cent of respondents in South Africa have installed parental control software on their children’s devices, and more worryingly, only 15 per cent install software that allows them to know their child’s location when the child is away from home.
According to Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager, Kaspersky Lab Africa, Kaspersky Safe Kids is a simple way for parents to provide much-needed online protection for children.
“It clearly shows you your children’s locations – on a real-time map – as well as lets you as parents/ guardians define a ‘safe area’ radius that kids are expected to stay within (such as from home to school or after-school activities). If any of your children leave the defined safe area, you’ll automatically receive an alert on your mobile phone.”
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