‘PM Modi’s Twitter account hacked, demand donations’
‘Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk targeted by hackers’
‘Israeli soldiers seduced with pictures of girls’
‘You can’t imagine how dangerous a smartphone is’
These were some of the news headlines in the past that show that online fraud has become a part of our daily lives.
Smartphones, the Internet and social media have made our lives easier and happier than ever before, but it has also increased fraud and forgery.
Since not every case of online fraud is registered with the police, it is difficult to say how many people in the world fall victim to this fraud every day.
Online fraud is a reality that is forcing the whole world to drink bitter sips but can online fraud be stopped?
White Hat Hacking
Ethical hacker Rachel Toback says that unfortunately online fraud happens very quickly.
“I can steal your money and all your data within five to 10 minutes. ‘
Rachel explains: “Companies hire me to find out where there are flaws in their systems that can lead to online fraud. I enter their money and data systems so that they know which link is weak and how to repair it.
Hacking done with such approval is called white hat hacking. Companies take the help of ethical hackers for this.
Rachel Toback knows how hackers think. Entering a company’s cybersecurity is a left-handed game for them.
She says, “I may look innocent to you, but in the blink of an eye, I will steal your money.” ‘
Online phishing methods may be a bit different but their ultimate purpose is to steal your data and money.
Rachel says she has many options for online fraud, one of which is to steal login details.
Rachel says: “Even big organizations are afraid of malware attacks because it steals their entire data. These include important information such as username, password, address, phone number. With this information, I can access and control any account. ‘
Open Source Intelligence
In the world of cybercrime, it is called a ‘criminal stuffing attack’. A similar case came to light in Canada in September this year when some government agencies, including online tax revenue services, were attacked.
Hackers stole the information of thousands of people. He then applied for a ‘Covid-related grant’ and withdrew the money.
Rachel said: “We hackers are able to do this because it requires a different kind of mind. For this, we use open source intelligence. Collect all your information that can also be found from your LinkedIn or Instagram posts. ‘
In order to protect your customer in the online shopping and banking system, a code is sent on mobile before any transaction. Rachel says that this method feels safe but it also has flaws.
She says: “For example, if you complain or write something else on Twitter or social media about the telecommunication service you hire, it tells us which company’s SIM card is in your mobile and this is the number on which the verification code for the transaction comes. In such a situation, by entering the cybersecurity of this company, I can access the verification code sent to you. ‘
That’s how you fall prey to online fraud and keep wondering how it happened.
Rachel says: “Unfortunately, despite millions of efforts, it is very difficult to protect you from online fraud because of how many phishing and malaysian domains are created every day. Increasing the number of counter police forces also does not matter because cyber attackers do their job so fast that there is no way to stop it. ‘
System errors
“Laws have been made to deal with cases of online fraud, but the fact is that we can neither investigate properly nor are we able to catch and punish the culprits.” ‘
This is what Tamlin Edmonds says who is a legal expert on online fraud cases. In the UK, his company deals with private cases of online fraud.
Tamlin Edmonds claims that online fraud cannot be stopped because there is no preparation and no planning at the government level.
“Before that, I was a government prosecutor. That was in 2012. I, along with two of my colleagues, observed that there are massive cuts in government institutions. At that time, there were some crimes that went unnoticed.
These included cases of fraud. Then we formed a company so that the victims of online fraud could get justice without depending on the government system. ‘
Tamlin Edmonds’ list of clients has grown long, including the general public as well as companies and institutions.
I don’t care about the court.
Online fraudsters don’t care about the courts. These are criminals who can sit in any region of the world and comfortably target their victims.
Tamlin Edmonds tells a very important thing from her experience.
She says: “The scope of online fraud is as big as our land. While figuring out where the money was stolen, there comes a time when you think that nothing can happen now. ‘
Tamlin claims that if an “online fraudster is sitting in the UNITED Arab Emirates or he stole money online and transferred it to a bank account there, then there can be no help from that bank nor does the police there help.” ‘
That is, criminals continue to commit crimes and continue to flourish. Tamlin recounts an experience where the police help but too late.
“It was a huge amount of about £2.5 million,” he said. The company that was cheated complained to the police in its area. The police said they will respond to the complaint within 28 days. ‘
This delay in investigation is nothing short of an occult help for online fraudsters. In the meantime, money keeps moving from one place to another and then reaches a place where you can never reach.
There are so many flaws in the system in different parts of the world that make it not only difficult to catch online fraudsters.
Low risk, big benefit
Mohammad Imran is a criminal intelligence officer at Interpol’s Financial Crime Unit in Singapore.
Interpol is the world’s largest international police agency. 194 countries of the world are its members and this agency works closely with its member countries.
“As far as Interpol is concerned, we have solved many cases of online fraud. ‘
One such case was reported in 2018. A company that was a victim of fraud received an email that looked official just like an employee sends his company’s official mail with ID.
Through this fake mail, the company suffered a huge financial loss.
“The case was very interesting because the fraud took place in Europe and five months later a man was arrested from Nigeria. As many as 45 cases of cyber crime, online fraud and money laundering were registered against him. Police from different countries investigated the case and collected evidence. In Nigeria, Interpol found data from more than 10,000 key people around the world. ‘
This kind of data in the wrong hands is like a precious treasure. It is almost impossible to know how much money has been stolen so far around the world through online fraud.
There are other problems.
It is also difficult to know where the money stolen through online fraud has reached in the cyber world. That is why most such issues are never resolved.
According to Mohammad Imran: “In most cases of online fraud, the money goes from one hand to the other. This money laundering group is spread in many countries. In such cases it is almost impossible to get back the entire stolen amount. There are many parties in between and everyone has their share. ‘
Mohammad Imran believes that online fraud can be prevented, but for this, it is necessary to have resources with willpower. This is why it is considered difficult to make a good career in cybercrime investigation.
On the contrary, for online fraudsters, this work is a profitable business at no cost and low risk.
The changing trend of crime
“Criminals will always be there, they can’t be stopped completely, but ways to deal with them can be improved,” said Stephen Conan, a cybersecurity adviser to African governments. ‘
He believes that online fraud cannot be completely eliminated and it is necessary to pay attention to local conditions to eliminate it.
Citing the example of Ivory Coast, he said: “It was in 2005, at that time Ivory Coast was considered a safe haven for cybercrime in Africa. The same was true of Nigeria. The government was worried and wanted to resolve it. ‘
Stephen Conan believes that trends in the world of crime are not always the same and this also changes over time.
He says: “In the 1990s, there were a lot of bank robberies in my country. Sixteen-year-old boys used to loot the bank, but after 15 years, the bank robbery stopped completely. Weapons and other equipment are needed to rob the bank. There was a threat to his life. With the changing times, these criminals shifted to the world of cybercrime because the risk here was very low and the profit of looting was very high. ‘
Criminals also went digital.
Then came the time when the cost of the internet fell so low that every hand started exploring the cyber world.
According to Stephen Conan: “When broadband was introduced in countries like Ivory Coast 15 years ago, the internet connectivity that was available for $ 200 has reached one dollar today. At the same time, the number of internet users has increased rapidly and at the same time cyber criminals have also increased. As the world went digital, the graph of cybercrime increased. ‘
Then came the era of mobile banking, which gave more opportunities to online fraudsters.
According to Stephen Conan: “Now our mobile wallet is the target of cybercrime. In just five years, 20 million people in my country have mobile wallets, but most people are very less educated and they do not understand the technology properly, so cyber criminals easily steal money from these mobile wallets. ‘
The matter does not end here, how the way criminals work in the digital world is also exemplified in Ivory Coast.
“In 2012, 60% of ivory coast cybercrime victims were abroad, especially in France, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium. But now the trend has changed. The biggest victims of online fraud are locals and foreigners are being targeted less. ‘
Secondly, when the graph of cybercrime in Ivory Coast began to skyrocket, the government also took necessary steps in the form of laws to control it.
The Global Problem
The examples of the countries given in connection with online fraud can be applied to any country to a great extent. Take, for example, India and Pakistan, where you will see reports of online fraud, rigging or forgery in newspapers every day.
How many of you readers must have experienced this fraud at some point?
You’ve also received a phone call, SMS, or email asking you to click on a link for romance, sex, sometimes a lottery, or any kind of fresh update, or asking for specific information.
The growing trend of smartphones and social media in hand has given the world a digital feather, in which fraudulent methods have also become digital.
But still, with the right information, due diligence and wisdom, you can prevent your hard-earned money from being looted.