OF late, there have been a number of reports in the Press about local women being trapped into becoming international "drug transporters" by people they have met on social networking sites like blogs, forums, chatrooms, etc.

This negative trend, if not addressed, can lead to more becoming victims to the global drug ring, and they would probably end up dead or serving life imprisonment.

This is the dark side of social networking, and for that matter, the Internet.

Even though social networking sites are good for communicating and connecting people worldwide, where you can connect with friends and seek like-minded individuals, it too has become the preferred platform for some irresponsible individuals to execute their bad motives.

However, one should be aware that revealing too much personal information and communicating with people met online is potentially dangerous.

Some sites and services ask you to post a "profile" with your age, gender, hobbies, and interests. While these profiles help you to connect and share common interests, potential exploiters can use these profiles to search for victims.

And to compound matters, many Web sites are cached by search engines, and photos and text can be retrieved long after the site has been deleted.

You need to bear in mind that like in the real world, the virtual space is also filled with dishonest people and those with bad intentions.

So far, we already have five reported cases of people becoming victims on the social networking platform. Hopefully, there will not be anymore.