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A person cheated of INR 2.58 Lakh (approximately USD
3.4 Thousand) by promising Job at an E-commerce
Giant
INTRODUCTION
Cybercrimes can be generalized as criminal offences involving
inter alia, computers, internet, networks, information technology,
and virtual reality. With advancement in technology and
globalization, such crimes have been increasing at an alarming pace
in India. Moreover, the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic has seen
cybercriminals elevating their cyber-attacks to hitherto unknown
levels, in order to exploit the fear and uncertainty caused by the
unstable economic situation. Recently, an unemployed man who was
unable to find a job due to the Covid-19 Pandemic was reportedly
cheated of INR 2.58 Lakh (approx.
USD 3.4 Thousand) by a cyber fraudster who had lured the man by
assuring him part time job at an e-commerce giant.1
FACTS OF THE CASE
The victim (reportedly a 34 year old male), had received a text
message regarding a job offer at an e-commerce giant, which
entailed purchase of certain products from the e-commerce platform
by him to increase their sales, and in lieu thereof, he would
receive hefty commissions. Upon receipt of the commission, the
orders could be cancelled to get refund of the orders too. Thus,
the victim contacted the number mentioned in the text message and
the fraudster who picked up the call impersonated to be a
representative of a private company which had partnered with the
e-commerce giant to increase sales of products through it.
The cyber fraudster informed the victim that he had to purchase
a product by making payment via an e-wallet account issued to him
and thereafter, he will receive a commission for it. To lure the
man and gain his trust, the cyber fraudster persuaded the man to
put small amounts of INR 200, INR 1,000 and INR 3,000 in the
e-wallet account issued to him. The man thereafter received INR
118, INR 468 and INR 1400 as commission for the said amounts.
Subsequently, the cyber fraudster persuaded the man to place an
order for eight products so that he could earn huge amount of
commission on it. The victim, being likely enthralled by the
promise of huge returns, deposited a sum of INR 2.58
Lakh (approx. USD 3.4 Thousand) for the products. However,
he did not receive any commission for the same and the cyber
fraudster refused to pay the commission or give back the money to
the man!
In light of such scams and frauds, it is more important than
ever to exercise Constant Vigilance and not pay
attention to such fraudulent calls or SMSes. Even more importantly
perhaps, it is imperative to be aware of the legal remedies
available to people regarding such frauds and cybercrimes. Further,
one must also be aware of the various types of cybercrimes or
frauds that may occur.
LEGAL REMEDIES AGAINST CYBER CRIMES
The Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Indian Penal Code,
1860 criminalizes a number of cybercrimes for protection of the
citizens and discouraging cyber fraudsters to commit such offences.
The aggrieved person should immediately file a Police
Complaint for Registration of the First Information Report
(FIR). The aggrieved person can also file a complaint
along with proofs with the Cyber Cell of the
concerned jurisdiction, inter alia intimating them about the said
cybercrime. The complaint can be filed through the National Cyber
Crime Reporting Portal2.
VARIOUS TYPES OF CYBERCRIMES
A non-exhaustive list of some of the more prevalent cybercrimes
is given below:
- Child Pornography/ Child Sexually Abusive
Material (CSAM) – It refers to material containing
sexual image in any form, of a child who is abused or sexually
exploited. - Cyber Bullying – It is a form of
harassment or bullying inflicted through the use of electronic or
communication devices such as computer, mobile phone, laptop,
etc. - Cyber Stalking – It is the use of
electronic communication to follow a person, or attempt to contact
a person to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear
indication to the accused of disinterest by such person. - Cyber Grooming – It occurs when a person
builds an online relationship with a young person and tricks or
pressures him/ her into doing sexual acts. - Online Job Fraud – It is an attempt to
defraud people who are in need of employment by giving them a false
hope/ promise of better employment with higher wages. - Online Sextortion – It occurs when
someone threatens to distribute private and sensitive material
using an electronic medium if he/ she does not provide images of a
sexual nature, sexual favors, or money. - Vishing – It is essentially a form of
phishing, which involves attempts wherein fraudsters try to seek
personal information like Customer ID, Net Banking password, ATM
PIN, OTP, Card expiry date, CVV etc. through phone calls. - Sexting – It is an act of sending
sexually explicit digital images, videos, text messages, or emails,
usually by cell phone. - Smshing – It is a type of fraud that
uses mobile phone text messages to lure victims into calling back
on a fraudulent phone number, visiting fraudulent websites or
downloading malicious content via phone or web. - SIM Swap Scam – It occurs when
fraudsters manage to get a new SIM card issued against a registered
mobile number fraudulently through the mobile service provider for
making financial transactions through victim’s bank
account. - Debit/Credit Card Fraud – It involves an
unauthorized use of another’s credit or debit card
information for the purpose of purchases or withdrawing funds from
the accounts. - Impersonation and Identity Theft – It is
an act of fraudulently or dishonestly making use of the electronic
signature, password or any other unique identification feature of
any other person. - Phishing – It is a type of fraud that
involves sending emails with malicious intent for stealing personal
information such as Customer ID, IPIN, Credit/Debit Card number,
Card expiry date, CVV number, etc. - Spamming – This involves unsolicited
commercial messages sent via email, SMS, MMS and any other similar
electronic messaging media. - Ransomware – It is a type of computer
malware that encrypts the files, storage media on communication
devices like desktops, Laptops, Mobile phones etc., holding
data/information as a hostage for demanding ransom. - Virus, Worms & Trojans – Virus is a
program written to enter to your computer and damage/alter your
files/data and replicate themselves. Worms are malicious programs
that make repetitive copies of themselves on the local drive,
network shares, etc. A Trojan is a destructive program that looks
as a genuine application. - Data Breach – It is an incident in which
information is accessed without authorization. - Denial Of Services/Distributed DOS – It
is an attack intended for denying access to computer resources
without permission of the owner or any other person who is
in-charge of a computer, computer system or computer network. - Website Defacement – It is an attack
intended to change visual appearance of a website and/ or make it
dysfunctional. - Cyber Squatting – It is an act of
registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with an intent
to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone
else. - Pharming – It is cyber-attack aiming to
redirect a website’s traffic to another, bogus website. - Cryptojacking – It is the unauthorized
use of computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies. - Online Drug Trafficking – It is a crime
of selling, transporting, or illegally importing unlawful
controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or other
illegal drugs using electronic means. This is especially prevalent
in the dark web. - Espionage – It is the act or practice of
obtaining data and information without the permission and knowledge
of the owner.
CONCLUSION
In today’s world where technology has reached great heights,
offences such as cybercrimes are not only limited to the computers
only but the impact of such cybercriminal activities can be seen on
mobile devices as well. Even opening a single link on a mobile
device can lead to installation of malware and cybercriminals could
easily hack the mobile device to cause great harm to any
individual. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, it has been observed that
the private information of the users of various apps has also been
leaked and sold on dark web. The general public should be aware of
the cybercrimes happening around them and should immediately report
any such cybercrimes to the authorities so that quick action can be
taken against such cyber fraudsters.
Footnotes
For further information please contact at S.S Rana &
Co. email: info@ssrana.in or call at (+91- 11
4012 3000). Our website can be accessed at
www.ssrana.in
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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