Students of WASS empowered to own their security online

The students of West Africa Senior High School, located in Adenta, a suburb of La Nkwatanang Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, have been exposed to ways they can safely navigate the social media space. This privilege was accorded them as part of NCCE and the French Embassy’s partnership campaign against information disorder and hate speech.

Bearing in mind the gullibility of the young ones, it has become a matter of urgency to furnish them with appropriate information with respect to their presence on and exploration of social media. It is precisely what has informed the Commission’s engagement with these students and their colleagues in other schools.

Greater Accra Regional Director, Mr. Mawuli Agbenu, touching on some online safety tips, advised the students not to accept friend requests from persons they have not met before physically. Explaining the rationale behind this, he indicated that once the individual’s motive cannot be ascertained, it is safer not to entertain them.

“If it is too good to be true, know that it is a red flag”, Mr. Agbenu stated while imploring the students to be wary of phishers, who are fraudsters sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce unsuspecting individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords, credit card number, and other sensitive information.

He thus admonished them to exercise some skepticism on messages and links that have the tendency to entice a person to access them, adding, “Before you click, make sure you have fact-checked and authenticated the source”.