Parents have been urged to keep an eye on their children with mobile phones in order to prevent them from abusing the technology to their detriment.

One of the things they should watch out for is their sending out messages to strangers, warned MCA Pubic Service and Complaints Department head Michael Chong.

He said there were many cases of young girls making friends with strangers using the friendship service provided by private companies and getting into trouble later.

Parents should therefore be wary if there are excessive charges of phones utilised by their children.

"Parents are the best people to check on their children because they have the closest relationship with their kids," Chong told malaysiakini.

Parents are usually the ones who have to settle the phone bills for their teenage children and they must advise them on the folly of texting strangers, he said.

On those who participated in the SMS friendship service extensively, Chong revealed that there were mostly teenagers aged between 15 to 18 who are eager to make new friends.

Teenagers the target

Parents must therefore educate their children to be careful and conscious over the service offered by private telecommunication companies.

Chong noted that private telecommunication companies always target teenagers as their main audience who will utilise their service and pay without questioning.

Asked whether the government should move to impose measures to stop these private companies from abusing such services, he doubted whether such a move will be fruitful.

He felt that teenagers, being teenagers, will likely ignore such a move or wriggle out of it because they might find the friendship service amusing and enjoyable.

The government, Chong said, could impose rules and regulations but these private telecommunication companies will continue to run such services as long as they are profitable.

"There is a high possibility that these so-called telecommunication companies were set up by an individual on a 'fly by night' basis," he added.

It is also difficult for the authorities to track down such companies because there are too may of them and that they normally do not operate from a proper office.

The best way to keep such operators in check is for parents to advise their children not to subscribe to their services, Chong said.