Police enhance cyber safety for seniors on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: To mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Bengaluru City Police, in collaboration with Nightingales Medical Trust, launched a joint project on Saturday focused on digital literacy and cyber safety training programmes under the Elders Helpline initiative in Bengaluru.

The programme was inaugurated by Police Commissioner B. Dayananda and Siddeshwara N, director of the Karnataka Department for the Differently-abled and Senior Citizens.

Since its inception in 2002, the Elders Helpline has handled 2,90,000 calls and visits, registered over 17,854 complaints, and successfully resolved 12,412 cases, achieving a 70 per cent resolution rate, according to a statement from the Bengaluru City Police Department.

The helpline addresses a variety of issues, including abuse by children, property disputes, tenant-owner conflicts, and neighbourhood nuisances.

The initiative has gained urgency with the rising number of elder abuse cases, which more than doubled from 229 cases in 2021-22 to 575 cases in 2022-23, and reached 526 cases in 2023- 24.

The introduction of digital literacy and cyber safety training programmes is a response to the increasing use of digital technologies by the elderly, making them more vulnerable to online fraud.

The free cyber safety training programme for senior citizens will be conducted at various locations across the city in the coming days.

It includes a half-day session featuring lectures and oneon-one instruction on topics such as the safe use of smartphones, downloading apps, booking tickets, online shopping, using health apps, and making online payments.