Transport police have recorded their first incidence of “cyber-flashing” after a woman was sent explicit images on her phone by an individual a few feet away.
Lorraine Crighton-Smith, 34, was travelling on a train in south London when pictures of an unknown man’s penis appeared on her screen.
The suspected cyber-flasher sent the images using Airdrop, a file-sharing function on iPhones and Mac computers. Airdrop uses wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless connections to transmit data over distances up to about 30ft.
Ms Crighton-Smith reported the incident to British Transport Police, which confirmed it to be the first reported crime of its kind.
“I felt violated, it was a very unpleasant thing to have forced upon my screen,” Ms Crighton-Smith told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme. “I was also worried about who else might have been a recipient, it might have been a child, someone more vulnerable than me. The images were of a sexual nature and it was distressing.”
Ms Crighton-Smith said she declined the image that the suspect sent to her, but another appeared almost immediately afterwards. “I realised someone nearby must be sending them, and that concerned me,” she said. The suspected cyber-flasher was able to send the images to Ms CrightonSmith’s phone because she had inadvertently left the Airdrop function switched on. This would have allowed a nearby individual using Airdrop to detect that her phone was available to receive photos or other files.
Superintendent Gill Murray, of British Transport Police, said: “The public rightly expect to travel without experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour of any kind. Receiving an indecent image from someone you don’t know must be very distressing and something we would take very seriously. “We have a dedicated cybercrime unit [which] can analyse mobile phones and track data transfers back to suspects’ devices. By linking this to physical evidence, such as CCTV footage or witness statements, we can catch offenders and bring them to justice through the courts. “My message to offenders is clear: while you might think you can hide behind modern technology in order to carry out abuse, you leave a digital footprint and stand a very good chance of being arrested and ending up on the sex offenders register.”