Cybersecurity Awareness Programme Held at St. Sebastian Church, Bendur
Mangaluru: St. Sebastian Church, Bendur, in association with the CAL, the Peace and Justice Commission, and the Social Communication Commission, organised a cybersecurity awareness programme under the guidance of Rev. Fr. Walter D’Souza and the leadership of Vice-President Deepak D’Souza.
The programme aimed to educate parishioners about online fraud, cybercrime and the importance of staying safe while using digital platforms.
The event began with a minute of prayerful silence led by Jyothi Helen D’Souza of the Peace and Justice Commission.
In his address, Rev. Fr. Walter D’Souza urged people to avoid greed and shortcuts to wealth. He pointed out that many people lose their hard-earned money due to a lack of awareness about mobile applications, social media and online scams.
The main awareness session was conducted by Kadri Police Inspector Anantha Padmanabha, who stressed the importance of trusting the police and reporting cybercrime without hesitation. He cautioned that fraudsters often pose as trustworthy individuals, initiate conversations using basic personal information and gradually manipulate victims into revealing confidential details.
“Today, we must be careful of white-collar criminals in our society,” he warned, urging everyone, particularly senior citizens, to remain vigilant when answering calls from unknown numbers or sharing personal and financial information.
During his hour-long session, Inspector Anantha Padmanabha explained various cybercrime cases reported in the local area and described how people fall victim to online fraud and lose their money. He emphasised the importance of awareness, caution and promptly reporting suspicious activities to the police.
The programme was attended by police personnel, religious sisters and parishioners. The police personnel present included PSI Prathibha, ASI Manohar, ASI Chandrahas Sanil, Head Constable Manik Narenavar, ASI Sudhakar Rao, and police staff members Sharanappa and Suresh.
Loy Rego, head of the commission, proposed the vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to the police officials, parish leadership and all those who contributed to organising the programme.
The event concluded with tea and snacks served to the guests and participants.