Online Fraud and ways to deal with it

According to the FBI's 2017 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received about 300,000 complaints. Victims lost over $1.4 billion in online fraud in 2017. According to a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and McAfee, cybercrime costs the global economy as much as $600 billion, which translates into 0.8% of the total global GDP. Online fraud appears in many forms. It ranges from email spam to online scams. Internet fraud can occur even if partly based on the use of Internet services and is mostly or entirely based on the use of the internet. Research shows that online scams are a massive industry and notoriously difficult to catch. The shame of being duped by a fraudster is so immense for the victim that very few report the crime. Even if they do, most trails go unearthed as scammers use fake identities or simply vanish without trace.

Types of Online fraud:-

The most common types of online fraud are:-

1. Phishing:-

Phishing is the process of collecting your personal information through email or websites claiming to be legitimate. This often results in identity theft and financial loss.

1. Overpayment Scam:-

This scam often involves an expensive item like a car, where the scammer offers to pay you more than you are selling it for, supposedly because they want the item shipped overseas.

1. Career Opportunities:-

Scammers will search legitimate employment sites online where you may have posted your resume, in the hope of finding their next victim.

1. Free Holiday:-

Travel scams are often at their highest rate during the summer months, and the offer of a week in an exotic location for free is undoubtedly very tempting if it is genuine.

5.Make Money at Home Using your Computer:-

There are ofcourse, genuine opportunities out there to make some extra bucks working at home, but there are also plenty of scammers wanting to take advantage.

1. Online Lottery, Contest and Sweepstakes Fraud:

It involves fake lotteries which take your money so that they can transfer the lottery amount to your bank account.

1. Online Dating Fraud:

It involves creating fake profiles and duping people in a variety of ways.

How can I protect myself?

With the proper precautions, you can help protect your bank accounts and personal information from harmful pop-up windows.

1. Know the Scams:-

Phishing, Spoofing, Pop-up Fraud – types of online fraud used to obtain personal information.

Trojan Horse – Virus that can record your keystrokes. It can live in an attachment or be accessed via a link in the email, website or pop-up window.

Counterfeit Websites – URLs that forward you to a fraudulent site. To validate a URL, you can type or cut and paste the URL into a new web browser window and if it does not take you to a legitimate web site or you get an error message, it was probably just a cover for a fraudulent web site.

2- Activate a pop-up window blocker:-

There are free programs available online that will block pop-up windows. Be sure to perform an Internet search for “pop-up blocker” or look at the options provided by major search engines.

3- Scan your computer for spyware regularly:-

You can eliminate potentially risky pop-up windows by removing any spyware or adware installed on your computer. Spyware and adware are programs that look in on your Web viewing activity and potentially relay information to a disreputable source.

4- Avoid downloading programs from unknown sources:-

Downloads may contain hidden programs that can compromise your computer’s security. Likewise, email attachments from unknown senders may contain harmful viruses.

5- Keep your computer operating system and Internet browser current

6- Keep anti-virus software up-to-date:-

Anti-virus software needs frequent updates to guard against new viruses. Select a reputable provider. Download the anti-virus updates as soon as you are notified that a new program update is available, or flag your program to download and install the updates automatically if that option is available.

7- Keep your passwords secret and change them regularly.

What to do if you become a victim:-

Immediately, report the case to the police and get an FIR registered. Inform your bank and block your card through a mobile app, online banking or toll-free number. Inform the bank and try to reverse the money fraudulently taken away from your account. Since OTP holds the key, the money is refunded by the bank only if the customer has not shared OTP or any other detail with the fraudster.

Law relating to cybercrime in India:-

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) is the main act which deals with the legislation in India governing cybercrimes. Some of the Sections dealing with Cyber Theft are: -

Section 43- If any person without the permission of the owner damages to computer, computer system, etc. he/she shall be liable to pay compensation to the person so affected.

Section 66 - If any person, dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in Section 43, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both.

Section 66B - Punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device is Imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to rupees one lakh or with both.

Section 66C - provides for punishment for Identity theft as: Whoever, fraudulently or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with Imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine with may extend to rupees one lakh.

Section 66 D – it was inserted to punish cheating by impersonation using computer resources

Conclusion:-.

With the increase in the number of frauds and cyber related crime, the government is coming up with refined regulations to protect the interest of the people and safeguard against any crime on the internet. Further, stronger laws have been formulated with respect to protection of "sensitive personal data" in the hands of the intermediaries and service providers (body corporate), thereby ensuring data protection and privacy.

[Author’s Profile: Yash Singh, B.A.LLB. (HONS.), 2ND YEAR, 4TH, Faculty Of Law, University of Allahabad]