Electronic games for children. Excitement and new methods of crime
Investigation: Somaya Saad
Recently, new methods of fraud using electronic games for children have spread, and instead of becoming fun and enjoyment for these young people, some are exploiting them to make huge financial gains, exploiting the gas and its effects included in these games. , who took children out of fun in malicious ways and instilled aggressive tendencies in their souls and directed them to multiple forms of crime that these children unwittingly practice, thereby endangering their safety and the safety of society. Sometimes they are influenced by the promotion of poisonous ideas that turn them into thieves who are good at stealing by choosing their victims remotely “electronically”, resulting in legal liability that leads them AND their guardians to courts and prisons, and sometimes they follow the promoters and their riddles, so they fall into their ropes.
Extremist organizations exploit these electronic games, making violence for children a means of entertainment and instilling extremist racist ideas into the minds of children through certain games. Indeed, there are certain games that are an arena for increasing their desire to abuse other children verbally and physically, or to imitate what they see in those games.
And this leads them to become easy prey in these organizations through a scam that is good at those who want to electronically exploit children and achieve their malicious goals and gains. In this research, we consider some forms of fraud in electronic games and the role of the secretary and the police in solving and opposing this phenomenon.
Real stories
At first, Umm Qais tells the story of her son, who became addicted to electronic games until their content affected his behavior, and he became confined to his room. Days passed until the police arrived at her house to look for her husband, as the perpetrator turned out to be her son, by getting into electronic games and following the instructions and orders of her exploiters, driving him to the point of addiction, and one of the terms of the game were to steal bank statements for his father’s friend, and because of his youth he would take his father to prison.
Umm Hazem says that her son, who has turned into an aggressive and nervous person thanks to electronic games, attacked her because she did not want to buy him the electronic game Permanent Disability, after which she was transferred to the hospital, and he to juvenile care.
addiction
As for Aladdin Yasser, an outstanding student and prominent among his friends, his addiction to electronic games has led him to steal the personal information of his neighbors, which poses a security and economic threat, especially with the advent of the concept of gangs. or organized groups in the field of cybercrime. As for Abu Tariq, he says that my son suddenly turned into a foreigner. His behavior is out of control when trying to stop him from playing these games, to the point where he crashed my car when I pulled his phone out, and as for Yasmina Al-Jali, the tricks and scams of electronic games led her to steal rare jewelry , and so on, an endless stream of stories about the methods and tricks that make children play To prove harming others.
Protection of children
Al-Ameen service has always called on parents to protect children from some electronic games that encourage children to commit aggression and crime, that lead them to the point of addiction and impose a state of isolation and detachment from reality, in a way to guarantee their protection and protection from danger crimes related to the use of modern technologies, especially in light of the widespread use of social media.
And since children often imitate what they see, violence becomes a means of entertainment for them, and this blind imitation, beyond the control of parents, contributes to increasing their desire to electronically bully children like them and leads to the spread of extremist ideas and hate speech through electronic gaming platforms .
extremist organizations
dr. Noah Ravor, head of international affairs at the Dubai Future Foundation, says that electronic games are being exploited by extremist organizations, such as the British group “National Alternative”, which instills extremist racist ideas into the minds of children through certain games, noting that there are certain games that are an arena for recruitment operations. (online), such as “Call of Duty”, and extremists have committed brutal crimes such as “Andres Breivik”, who carried out a mass shooting in Norway, killing many innocent people as a result of his influence on similar games.
He explains that the horrendous demand for these games also makes them a target for extremist organizations. Over the past decade, social media has been a breeding ground for hate, racism and recruitment through electronic games.
of national content
Colonel Saeed Al-Hajri, director of the Cybercrime Department at Dubai Police, says the problem remains with the content, not the games themselves, stressing the need to find attractive national content for children, so that they are not vulnerable to inappropriate electronic content. Dubai Police received 26 complaints of cyberbullying and 21 reports of fraud targeting children through electronic games within 3 years, and Dubai Police recorded through the “e-Crime” platform specific crimes related to electronic games, such as bullying, including six reports of penetration, since the establishment of the platform three years ago, Adolescent youth can face the risks of radicalization as part of electronic games without adult supervision.
“E-crime”
Major Abdullah Al-Shehhi, deputy director of the Electronic Investigations Department at Dubai Police’s General Criminal Investigation and Investigation Department, says the “e-Crime” platform launched by Dubai Police to report electronic crimes has made progress in addressing and monitoring these methods, as many people contacted Notes, complaints and reports of great importance, which contributed to the arrest of electronic criminals, and he also confirmed that he invites parents to sit with children, and the participation of the child when buying electronic games, and know their details, and even participate in these games and know their stages and content, in order to ensure their safety and protect children from any electronic dangers.
Management and supervision
dr. Marwan Al Zarooni, CEO of Dubai Blockchain Center, sheds light on governance in the virtual world and the role of governments in promoting a sustainable and secure experience in the Metaverse, and says that the UAE presents an attractive environment for the best experts and service providers in this field, with the aim of creating an ideal Metaverse system, as a real leap into the future.
Pedagogical-psychological consultant Dr. Nadia Buhanad says that the problem is not in the electronic games themselves, but in the weakness of family control and the absence of order, to the extent that parents have lost control over their children, and that many parents lack knowledge and awareness, and do not they understand the real dangers of leaving children unattended A child under the age of two should not be exposed to a phone screen or anything else.
Economic aspect
Emad Al-Ahmad, an economist, says that the creators of electronic games take advantage of the passion of children and adolescents to play them, and come up with fraudulent methods to constantly drain the pockets of parents, because they are not satisfied with the sums of money. which are paid for the game, but entice teenagers to buy other virtual tools that allow them to continue playing, especially in group games.
Track accounts
Farzana Ahmed of Dubai Court said: “The accounts a child creates to play the game must be monitored as it isolates children from their social environment if they are practiced with in an irrational way for long hours and also reduces their experiences in real life and builds the fantasy and virtual memory alternative to real life that he needs.” The child should practice this in all details in order to build his personality and develop his abilities to face challenges, and that there are cases of baiting that children were exposed through these games and means of communication, due to the absence of family supervision, therefore parents must play their important role in monitoring and following their children and interfering in the choice of games.
the health side
dr. Reham Zaki, a specialist at Zulekha Hospital, said: Playing electronic games causes many health problems such as: obesity, laziness, restlessness, lack of regular exercise, addiction and children cannot give up their electronic devices for more than 30 minutes, especially with mobile phone, and what is also frightening is that these games have distracted the youth from learning and made them unwilling to achieve academically, along with the decline of the role of the family, the world and religious institutions.
serious damage
dr. Nour Hisham, doctor and master of public health, explains that sitting a child in front of electronic games for a long time seriously harms health, the most important of which is stress on the eyes, nerves and surrounding muscles, which exposes him to long-term damage to vision, and causes muscle spasms in the neck, back, hands and joints, which leads to fatigue, pain and a feeling of exhaustion due to bending and improper sitting in front. games, poor concentration and memory, which affects brain functions and cognitive activities, which is reflected in the child’s school achievement, long-term isolation, which affects the child’s mental health and his separation from family and friends, and can also result in attacks of depression , anxiety, loss of appetite.
Also, long-term use of electronic games leads to addiction, and in the long-term the child may be susceptible to chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and brain diseases.
legal side
Lawyer Walid Askar says that everyone must be careful and not deal with fake websites and the dangers of misuse of social networking sites, due to the legal responsibility arising from their users in accordance with Article 16 of the Federal Decree-Law no. 34 of 2021 regarding the fight against rumors and cybercrime. Whoever possesses, obtains, prepares, designs, manufactures, imports, makes available or uses any information program or means of information technology or traffic codes or codes or uses encryption with the intention of committing any of the criminal offenses specified in this Decree-Law or concealing evidence or their traces or preventing their discovery.
Social worker, Magda Nashat, urges parents to use their role in research, monitoring, participation and discussion to protect their children from the dangers of these games, and children must be the first priority.
educational side
Maha Hassan, an educational expert, says that the problem is not in the electronic games themselves, but in the way and time of use, and that addiction to them causes anxiety, depression and other problems, and that they are open games that enable communication. and conversation during play are described as strangers in our homes and accompanying our children, which puts them in danger. It allows the secrets of our families to others, because it is not openness to cultures, as some believe, but can be used to exchange concepts, information and beliefs The presence of strangers in their lives.
