By Ili Liyana Mokhtar

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Cyberstalking is on the rise in the country.

According to Cyber-Security Malaysia, an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, the number of cases in the first 10 months of the year had more than doubled to 151 from 72 last year.

A spokesman for the agency said 68 cases were reported in 2007.

"Year after year, as more people use the Internet, cyber criminals are also multiplying, ready to exploit this medium to commit crimes," said the spokesman.

"People do not know where to take their complaints as the stalkers are elusive, and they believe it is an unavoidable part of going online. But it is important for victims to report these cases to prevent future incidents of cyber-crime."

Those who have been cyberstalked should report the breach of privacy to Cyber-Security Malaysia, which is tasked with counselling and educating the public on online security.

Although the agency is not an enforcement body and cannot apprehend cyber fiends, it has the power to remove malicious content.

The spokesman said it was difficult to trace the identity of thieves who usually preyed on users of social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook.

The stalkers are also known to harass netizens by sending rude messages or posting personal pictures without the consent of the owner (not necessarily nude ones), or abusing their email, blogs and social networking accounts. Sometimes, they also terrorise the victims' online contacts.

"The reports lodged will be sent to the police where they will be treated as criminal harassment cases,"

For more information, visit www.cybersafe.my.

--New Straits Times