What is online fraud?

In today’s digital age, the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, revolutionizing the way we communicate, shop, and conduct business. However, along with its countless benefits, the online world also has a darker side that is online fraud. As a professional cybercrime investigator, I’ve encountered various forms of online frauds. In this blog, I aim to discuss some very simple questions of people regarding what is online fraud:

What is online fraud?
What are types of online fraud?
What are effects of online fraud?
How do online fraudsters operate?
How can we protect ourselves from falling victim of online fraud?
How to file a complaint of online fraud?

What is Online Fraud?

Online fraud refers to any illegal or deceptive activity conducted over the internet with the intention of financial gain or to cause harm to individuals or organizations. Perpetrators of online fraud use various tactics, exploiting vulnerabilities in technology and human behavior to carry out their illicit activities.

In simple words, online fraud is any criminal deception that uses the internet to steal money, personal information, or assets from any innocent victim. It’s a broad term which encompasses various schemes, but they all share a common goal and that exploiting vulnerabilities for illegal gain.

What are Types of Online Fraud?

Online criminals are constantly changing their modus operandi and are exploiting the technological advancements, however I would like to list down some of the most common types of online frauds which are routinely conducted in one way or another:

Phishing:

Phishing is one of the most common forms of online fraud. It involves sending deceptive emails or messages that appear to be from a known or a reputable sender or source, such as your family, friend, colleague, banks or government agencies. They do this to trick individuals into revealing their sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details. For stealing information the criminals also use a technique which is called Pharming, so let’s first discuss it.

Pharming:

Besides sending emails or messages, online fraudsters also use this technique to steal sensitive information of individual. To this the online fraudster will first establish a replica of a legitimate website of any renowned source, most commonly it may be of any bank or a government agency. The idea behind creating a replica website is to send its link (URL) to the targeted victim and somehow persuade the him to visit that link and redirecting the individual to their fake website that appears to be real one. The fake website is either custom scripted to steal information from the computer of visitor for fraudulent activity or designed to fetch sensitive information of individual. Once the individual enters its information, it falls straight into the hands of the fraudster.

Identity Theft:

Identity theft occurs when an online fraudster steals someone’s personal information, such as social security numbers or financial details, to impersonate them or make unauthorized transactions. By using stolen personal information, fraudsters can open new accounts, make unauthorized purchases, or even damage your credit score.

Credit Card Fraud:

Credit card fraud simply means the unauthorized use of someone’s credit card information to make purchases or withdraw funds without their consent. This can happen through stolen cards, card skimming devices, or hacking into payment systems.

Online Auction Fraud:

In online auction fraud, scammers create fake listings or manipulate legitimate ones to deceive buyers and purposefully paying for goods or services that they will never receive. Both buyers and sellers can be targeted in online auctions. Fake bids to inflate prices (Shill bidding) and receiving non-existent items are common scams.

Investment Scams:

Online investment scams lure victims with promises of high rate of returns on investments in stocks, cryptocurrencies, or other financial instruments. However, these schemes are often Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes which are designed to defraud investors. Fraudsters lure victims with promises of unrealistic returns on bogus investment opportunities. Be careful of uncalled-for investment offers, especially those with a strong sense of urgency (simply termed as greed).

Romance Scams:

Romance scams target individuals looking for love or companionship online. Scammers create fake profiles on dating websites or social media platforms to establish romantic relationships with victims, only to exploit them for money or personal information.

Malware:

In this type of online fraud the fraudster sends a malware to the target in the form of any attachment of a picture, email, message or legitimate communication. This type of malware is designed to automatically download and run in back ground to steal information, hack your device, gain access to device’s peripherals like camera/mic etc, or even monitor your online activity. Once the perpetrator gains access to a device he can do miracles. Like……

Online Shopping Fraud:

Fake online stores or misleading product descriptions can trick the individual into paying for goods or services that will never arrive. Always research a seller before buying and stick to reputable platforms.

What are Effects of Online Fraud?

Online fraud is a serious crime with far-reaching consequences. Below I will try to elaborate that how can it affect individuals and businesses:

Financial Loss:

Victims can lose money directly through unauthorized transactions or stolen information.

Identity Theft:

Fraud can lead to identity theft, which is a complex issue that can take time and resources to resolve.

Emotional Distress:

Being a victim of fraud can be a stressful and emotional experience.

Business Disruption:

Online fraud can damage a business’s reputation and lead to financial losses.

How Online Fraudsters Operate?

It is very important for an individual to understand the tricks that are used by fraudsters for online fraud so that we can stay ahead of them. Following are some of the common tactics used by online fraudsters:

Creating Fear and Urgency:

Fraudsters are very smart and they do proper homework before launching a fraud scheme. They tend to play with common weaknesses of human brain and attempt to target human psyche. For example the language and words selection in Phishing emails will often create a sense of urgency or fear or threat of serious financial consequence just to pressure you into acting promptly without giving you enough time of thinking critically.

Spoofed Calls and Emails:

For spoofing a Fraudster normally manages calls or messages or emails that appear to be from legitimate sources. As a result the individual may assume that the call, message or the email is from one of his family or friend who is an emergency situation or it is from your bank or your credit card company and in case he does not reply or provide the requisite information he will face severe financial losses.

Creating a Sense of Scarcity:

Sometimes the fraudster sends very fancy and attractive short timed offers to lure the individual. To do this the fraudster may send “Limited-time offers” or “too-good-to-be-true” deals which can cloud your judgment and make you more inclined to believe the scams.

Exploiting Human Trust:

Fraudsters know it very well that human being generally trust the celebrities or established brands. Therefore, they use advanced technology like #deepfake and create a message or video which the targeted individual or group of individuals will believe to be true and will fall into the scam.

How to Protect Ourselves from Online Fraud?

At the time when online fraudsters are cunning, up to date and are exploiting technological advancements, following steps can be taken for our protection from online fraud.

Be Vigilant:

The first step to safeguard ourselves is to stay alert and cautious when interacting online. Especially with unneeded emails, messages, or requests for friendships and requests for personal information. We should never click on links or download attachments from unknown senders, even if they appear to be from legitimate sources.

Verify Sources:

The links to the websites which normally appear to be legitimate are not always legitimate, therefore we should always verify the legitimacy of websites, emails, or messages before providing any sensitive information or making financial transactions. An easy and simple way to verify is that copy the text of link received in the message and paste it in a browser address bar, there it will display original URL which we can cross check.

Use Secure Connections:

We must ensure that we use secure and encrypted connections while transmitting sensitive data online, especially when accessing banking or shopping websites and using credit card information. We must check the website URL for inconsistencies and typomatic mistakes. These typomatic mistakes are purposefully made by the fraudsters to redirect the individual to their desired website inspite of the original website. Moreover we all must remember that a legitimate website on which information has to be exchanged typically uses secure connections which starts with https:// any transactional website that is starting with http:// will most probably be a scam.

Keep Software Updated:

Operating systems, antivirus software and all other software development companies are always doing research on vulnerabilities against latest cyber crimes in their software and are updating it against those vulnerabilities. Therefore, we should always use licensed software so that we can periodically update our operating system, antivirus software, and other security tools to protect against vulnerabilities and exploits.

Use Strong Passwords:

Passwords are the front line barrier to protect our online accounts from being compromised. Therefore we must use strong and unique passwords for our online accounts and always enable two-factor authentication whenever possible to add an extra layer of security. This two-factor authentication will enable us to ensure that only devices allowed by us are able to access any online account.

Beware of Free Offers, Ponzi and Quick-Rich Schemes:

We always keep saying the Greed is a Curse but we forget it when we see any attractive short term offer. Therefore please remember that if something seems too-good-to-be-true, it probably is. Do your research before investing or buying anything from that offer.

Monitor Your Accounts:

Ignorance is something that the fraudsters are looking at, they initially make minor un-noticeable changes to our online account. If we notice it and plug that loophole then this will be an alarm to the fraudster that we a vigilant to our account so he will be cautious to regain access to our account. Because mind you that these fraudsters are always looking for weak targets so they don’t want to waste their time against a strong and vigilant target. Therefore, regularly review your bank statements and credit card reports and all online accounts for any suspicious activity.

Keep Yourself Updated:

Technological development is a continuous process so considering ourselves up to date forever is not the result. Therefore, I recommend to stay informed about the latest online fraud tactics and scams by regularly reading reputable sources like www.naumanbodla.com and staying updated of cybersecurity news and updates.

Report Fraudulent Activity:

If you suspect that you’ve been a victim of an online fraud, immediately report it to the relevant authorities and financial institutions.

How to Report/File a Complaint?

Being a victim of any criminal activity or fraud, it is a social responsibility of every individual to report it to the concerned authorities. Therefore, now I will try to explain that how can an individual who is a victim of an online fraud can report to the concerned authority of his related country.

USA

If you are a resident of United States of America and is a victim of an online fraud, you can directly report and file a complaint online by visiting https://complaint.ic3.gov/ .

UK

For UK nationals or for those living in UK the individual has to first create an account and then he can file a formal complaint by visiting https://reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/login , alternatively you may call 0300 123 2040 for registering your complaint.

Canada

While living in Canada or being a resident or national of Canada you may call 1-888-495-8501. If you have a Government of Canada ID and have GC ID and password then you ma visit https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/chooser-eng.html?ipeReferer=CAFCFRS and register your complaint online.

France

French nationals and those living in France may register their online complaints by visiting https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1435?lang=en#:~:text=For%20credit%20card%20fraud%20or,on%20Service%2DPublic.fr.

Pakistan

All Pakistani nationals and those who are at the time of crime residing in Pakistan may register their complaints regarding online fraud at https://www.nr3c.gov.pk or https://www.nr3c.gov.pk/creport.php. You can also register a complaint via email at helpdesk@nr3c.gov.pk or by calling at 0092 51 9106384 or on cell No 0092 336 6006060.

India

Indian nationals and visitor can call helpline number 1930 or report their complaints on National Cybercrime Reporting Portal https://i4c.mha.gov.in/ncrp.aspx#:~:text=Complaints%20can%20be%20reported%20through,on%20National%20Cybercrime%20Reporting%20Portal. Alternatively they can visit https://cybercrime.gov.in/ to report their complaints.

UAE

You can report cybercrimes to the nearest police station in your area, or call 999 for help in case you are a victim of an online fraud in UAE, alternatively you can also register your complaints online at https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/wps/portal/home/services/individualservicescontent/cybercrime. UAE also has a live portal of online frauds at https://twitter.com/moiuae/status/1762866045822349606 where you can keep yourselves up to date regarding online frauds in UAE.

Australia

While being a victim of online fraud if you are an Australian national or visiting Australia you can register your complaint regarding online fraud by simply clicking www.reportCyber.gov.au or by calling the Australian Cyber Security hotline on 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371). Australia also has a dedicated portal to register online fraud complaints at https://portal.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam/ where you can directly register your complaints.

Conclusion:

Online fraud poses a significant threat to individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. As #cybercrime investigators, it is crucial for us to understand various forms of online fraud and work towards preventing and combating them. We can mitigate the risks posed by online fraud and create a safer online environment for everyone. This is possible by staying vigilant, educating ourselves and others, and adopting robust #cybersecurity measures.

To conclude, I would say that, online fraud is a persistent issue that requires collective efforts from individuals, businesses, and law enforcement agencies to be addressed effectively. By raising awareness, implementing preventive measures, and effectively #prosecuting the perpetrators, we can work towards minimizing the impact of online fraud and safeguarding the integrity of the digital world.

What is online fraud?