Misused

Rusara lived alone in a boarding house near her workplace. She used to go home twice a month. She stayed in touch with her parents and her boyfriend, who was abroad for a short training program, through video calls.

One day, as Rusara was heading back to her boarding house after work, her phone suddenly crashed and turned off. She tried to restart it and charge it, but nothing worked. She wanted to speak with her boyfriend before he went to bed, as he was 2 hours ahead of her time zone. In a hurry, she looked for a nearby phone repair shop. It was nearly 7:30 PM, and most shops were closing, but she found a small one still open.

She asked if her phone could be repaired, and they said it would take some time and that they needed to order new screens for her phone model. They asked her to leave the phone and assured her she could pick it up the next afternoon. Rusara reluctantly agreed, hoping the repair would be done on time.

Rusara: I’ll leave the phone. Are you sure you can give it to me tomorrow afternoon? I really can’t manage without it.

Phone Repairer: Yes Miss., we can give it to you by tomorrow afternoon.

Back at her boarding house, unable to contact her boyfriend, Rusara decided to email him using her laptop. She explained what had happened and mentioned she would pick up her phone the next day.

Rusara : Hi Love, there’s something wrong with my phone screen, so I just left it for repair. I’ll pick it up tomorrow afternoon.

Rusara’s Boyfriend:Oh, is that so sweetz? I tried calling you several times but couldn’t get through. I was worried. Take care, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night. I’ll let your mum know too.

Rusara : Okay, love. Good night.

The next day, Rusara picked up her phone and was relieved to have it back. She called her mother and then her boyfriend. Life continued as usual until one day, when she received a call from a university friend, Kalum.

Kalum: Hey, how are you? It’s been a while.

Rusara: Hi! I’m good. How are things with you?.

Kalum: Not bad. I have some concerning news. Don’t panic, but I’m not sure how this happened. Where are you?

Rusara :I’m at work. What’s going on? I’m already feeling scared.

Kalum: One of your private pictures has been posted in a bad WhatsApp group. I found out from another friend who saw your photo and recognized you. Don’t worry, we’ll see what we can do.

Panicked, Rusara struggled to focus on work. She took half a day off, went to her boarding house, packed her bags, and went home. She told her boyfriend about the situation, and he suspected that the repair shop might have stolen her private photos.

He comforted her and began searching for solutions. He found Hithawathi website and contacted them for advice. Hithawathi guided him to gather information about the group, report it since the group could be banned for not following the community guidelines. They also advised him to contact the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to identify the offender and take legal action if necessary. Rusara’s boyfriend thanked Hithawathi for their timely guidance.