Dubai, Jan 27(The National): Girls who upload pictures of themselves online risk being defamed and blackmailed, say Dubai Police.

Their records show 73 such cases were registered in 2010, 17 per cent more than in 2009, when they investigated 62 cases.

Defamation and blackmailing cases through the internet - especially through social networking websites - are a problem, said Captain Rashid Lootah, head of the Electronic Evidence unit at the Criminal Evidence and Criminology department.

"The most common cases involve young men who copy pictures of girls from their Facebook accounts and then use them to blackmail the girls for money," he said.

"I call on girls not to save their pictures online: not in their email inboxes or on social networking websites. This will prevent them falling victim to weak souls who are out to get them in trouble. I also call on them not to open their email accounts or social networking profiles in public places, such as internet cafes," he added.

The most remarkable case registered in the last year, according to Capt Lootah, was that of a young man who hacked into the inbox of a girl and copied all her pictures.

He later opened a Facebook account in her name and uploaded her pictures. The suspect even uploaded a video-clip of the girl to Facebook. He then used the fake Facebook profile to blackmail her for money.