Domestic Abuse goes Digital

Some companies make use of mobile application to gain profit even if it involves immoral behavior from the users. In the article, domestic abusers are able to track down their spouses and spy on their daily activities. This endangers the victims’ lives because every move made is being monitored by their abuser. The victims will not be able to ask for help and be confined by their abusers. The law enforcement were able to stop this particular application. However, this application is just 1 out of 100Billion according to the statistics(The Statistics Portal, 2015). The companies should not earn profit by making other people’s lives suffer.

References:

The Statistics Portal. (2015). Statistics and facts about mobile app usage. [online] Available at: http://www.statista.com/topics/1002/mobile-app-usage/ [Accessed 17 Jun. 2016].

By: Low Joong Lok

The Predictive Power Of Location

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Nowadays, marketer used location as their strategic marketing tools to track on consumer needs from the company websites and mobile application consumer used. It became a powerful source of information about a customer’s position that can be used by marketers to deliver relevant messaging in innovative ways. It became an opportunity for marketers to shape consumer behavior and significantly drive sales. As a results, consumer’s privacy information was divulged.  Consumers’ evaluations of online shopping experiences and repurchase intention were influenced when exposed to information about behavioral tracking practices. To prevent misuse of personal information, government should raise consumer awareness about the risk of mobile app by holding a number of workshops for the consumer groups to explore guidelines to protect consumers' privacy online. Additionally, companies who used aggressive tactics have to be punish according to the law. (Federal Trade Commission, 2016)

Reference: Federal Trade Commission. (2016). Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road. [online] Available at: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/advertising-marketing-internet-rules-road [Accessed 18 Jun. 2016].

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By: Loo Su Fia

How safe are your mobile banking apps?

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People are relying more on using banking apps to do transaction and it is a chance for the fraudster to steal bank customer’s money through banking apps. Fraudster also creates a fake banking apps to steal personal details and use the phone number to access victim financial information. The malware which create by the fraudster will attack the victim banking apps to get personal details and misuse it. To prevent becoming a victim people must download the banking apps from the official channel and be aware of the message send by SMS which ask for bank account number. In addition, the banker can put in six or 4 digit authentication PIN for every customer and auto block the customer who not use the apps for a specific time. It’s a way to protect customer’s privacy. (vishwanathan, 2016)

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By: Ivan Tang

Oovoo: Parents claim paedophiles are using smartphone app to target children

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Misuse on social media apps also can impact a child's life when the criminal use those apps to allure children and became a harassment issue. Some paedophilia will use the apps to send sexual messages to the children and mislead them. Besides, children use those social media apps to meet strangers and get cheated by them. To prevent this issue parents must filter out inappropriate websites and ensure their child is enough age to join the social networking site. Parents also need to educate their children not to communicate with strangers by using the social media apps and teach them to use the safety function of the apps block the strangers so they can reduce the harassment issues. (GLENDINNING, 2016)

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By: Ivan Tang

Misuse of Location Data

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The advanced mobile applications able to detect the users current location based using a combination of GPS coordinates with the ID of the nearest mobile tower, called as location data. This may acts as a useful way for users to find way out when they are missing, but this could lead to the invasion of privacy some app providers and developers sell their users' location data to marketing companies for targeted advertising. Several UK regulations are used to protect the users and allow users to setting off their location to hide them in the crowd and protect their privacy (Misuse of Location Data | Taylor Wessing LLP, 2016).

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By: Edward See

‘Stalker apps’ and GPS allow domestic violence abusers to discover hidden refuges.

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Refuges that house victim of domestic violence are increasingly being discovered by perpetrators using “stalker apps” and GPS locators hidden in their victim’s phone, cars and others. Through these apps and GPS locators the prey know exactly the locations of their victims. These victims live in fear as there are nowhere to escape from their abusers. The stalking technology cannot be stopped because something as simple as public transport card can locate the users. Hence, the Australian Prime Minister has declared the misuse of technology in domestic violence an issue and promised a national plan. The workers in domestic violence sectors believed education and awareness is the only solutions. 

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Posted By: Vivien Ngai

Rape by mobile messaging

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A growing number of underage Malaysian girls are being lured by sexual predators through mobile chat apps and then sexually assaulted. These victims usually going through puberty and experiencing problems which they find it impossible to share with their parents so they turned to strangers to get some comfort. These predators will take advantage of the trust of the victims and lure them out to sexually abuse them. Hence, education is important to stop these sexual crimes on social issues, family should start building open communication with their child and educate them on sex. 

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By: Vivien Ngai

Sexual Predator Warns Parents About ‘KIK’ App

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‘KIK’ is messaging app that enable a person to contact and chat with random people they prefer based on the criteria they set in the application. A convicted sex offender shares how he easily prey on victim. Through this mobile application function he is able to be anyone he want easily by changing his personal profile and select the age range of those he want to contact, within minutes he is matched with 2 people. The convicted sex offender said he tried to stay away from these easy tools “mobile applications” to prey. Hence, it is safer for parents to make sure their kids do not download these mobile applications such as ‘KIK’.

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By: Vivien Ngai