Jamshedpur: Do not share messages on social media without knowing their source and authenticity, do monitor your bank accounts regularly and never take help from strangers at ATM kiosks.

Jharkhand police, which last Wednesday launched the pink patrol van in Jamshedpur to protect girl students from stalkers and gropers, this Wednesday held a unique session to make college girls aware of basic ways to save themselves from online crimes.

The session at Jamshedpur Women's College in Bistupur, the first in the series, was a joint effort of Jamshedpur police and the college that lasted one-and-a-half hours.

Over 150 students attended the session held by city SP Prabhat Kumar, DSP composite control room (CCR) Sudhir Kumar, cyber cell resource person Ravi Mishra. College principal Purnima Kumar and faculty members were also present.

Policemen, who dwelt on fake profiles, identity theft, hate messages, malvertising, card cloning and data misuse, asked students not to use the Internet carelessly. The girls were told not to share OTP (one-time password) during online transactions with anyone, to always try and use a busy ATM with a security guard to avert the possibility of card cloning and not to use public Wi-Fi randomly as it increased chances of data theft.

The city SP also asked students to approach police if they fall prey to cyber crime.

"Usually, people don't approach the police. It is my request that no matter what happens, report your problem to the nearest thana or lodge an online complaint. We will help," said city SP Prabhat Kumar.

Cyber cell resource person Mishra said at least 10 cyber crime cases were reported every month in Jamshedpur but the actual number was greater as most went unreported.

Citing examples, he recounted how some boys were trapped by fake online counsellors such as Cyber Baba, how a scientist lost Rs 6 lakh from his bank account and couldn't receive alert messages as he had changed his registered mobile number without informing the bank.

DSP Sudhir Kumar said youngsters were careless and vulnerable. "The biggest problem is that half the crimes don't get reported for some or the other reason," he said.

College girls asked many questions, including how to report fake profiles, which many are terrified of.

After the session, all said they learnt a lot. "I didn't know about card cloning. I also learnt we should not use Wi-Fi anywhere as our data can be stolen and sold. The session taught us to be safe in the cyber world," said G. Payal, a commerce student.