Victim said to be local model
By AsiaOne

Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Internet)

According to information found on the website hosting the hijacked photos, the victim was alleged to be a local model while doing undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore.

It also mentioned that the victim had previously taken part in a local television gameshow.

The pictures posted on the site showed the victim in various states of undress. In several, she was seen performing sex acts on a man, whose face was not captured in the photo. The photos appeared to have been taken in a hotel room.

Some pictures showed the victim taking explicit pictures of herself in the mirror using a digital camera. From the background of the pictures, the images were likely captured in the bathroom.

According to the US-based site, the woman has made a police report. A copy of an email from an investigating officer from the Singapore Police Force to the site's webmaster requesting the pictures be taken down were also posted on the website in an updated post.

Other websites have also followed the development of the incident. Popular Singaporean blogger Alvinology also had a post regarding the authenticity of the images. The post was later removed.

No action will be taken by NUS, and the university has said that it will provide the victim with whatever support she needs. The victim's family is also said to be managing the situation well.

Homemade pornography has a new name
By AsiaOne

Gadgets such as mobile phone cameras, handheld video recorders and digital cameras are easily available nowadays.

Recording digital media with these devices are also becoming increasingly easy, meaning that homemade pornography can be more easily 'produced', and more are made available online.

In fact, this trend is so widespread among youths that it even has its own name: "camwhoring".

While some pictures were not meant to be shared publicly, others were willing to put upload explicit pictures of themselves so that they will get more hits on their websites and gain popularity as a result. Such acts can backfire badly.

Like the NUS undergrad, a number of Singaporean women have found their explicit photos pop up in all the wrong places over the past year.

A search on the same US-based site where the NUS undergrad's pictures were found turned up results of a model whose nude pictures were allegedly taken and posted without permission, as well as two teenage girls whose "camwhoring" photos were obtained from their personal websites and uploaded.

Don't upload every photo you take
By AsiaOne

You take pictures of your room, your house, your dog, your computer, your parents and even the neighbours. Then you put them all into carefully sorted galleries and put them all on your blog.

They might be a treat for friends wanting to catch up with you, but when pieced together, these pictures can also reveal a lot about your life.

Just the other week I figured out where my new online friend worked and lived, simply because she photo-blogged every picture she took with her handy mobile phone.

The bottom line: Don't want an online - or scarier, offline - stalker? Quit being a camwhore and stop posting those pictures online. If you still insist on doing so, make sure you check the back seat the next time you take the car out for a spin.

More stories:

» 8 stupid things people do online

» Teens who upload explicit pictures of themselves: what were they thinking?

» Teen offered nude pictures for virtual pet gifts

» S'pore model's nude photos hijacked

» Teens' lives are an open (Face)book