Cyber Crime & Precautions

CYBER CRIME & PRECAUTIONS
TALWANT SINGH
DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE
DELHI (EAST)

• Cyber Crimes are any crimes that involve a
computer and a network. In some cases, the
computer may have been used in order to commit
the crime, and in other cases, the computer may
have been the target of the crime.
• The effect of cybercrime can be extremely upsetting
for victims, and not necessarily just for financial
reasons. Victims may feel that their privacy has been
violated, and that they are powerless. Unfortunately,
as World’s reliance on technology grows, the cost
and incidence of cybercrime is expected to increase.

ATTACKS ON COMPUTER SYSTEMS
• Unauthorised access or hacking – when someone
gains access to your computer or device without
permission.
• Malware – malicious software (such as viruses, trojans
and spyware) which monitor your online activity and
cause damage to the computer.
• Denial of service attacks – an attack which floods a
computer or website with data, causing it to overload
and prevent it from functioning properly. This type of
attack is more frequently targeted at businesses, rather
than individuals.

CYBER-BULLYING OR STALKING
Cyber-bullying or Stalking occurs when someone engages in
offensive, menacing or harassing behaviour through the use
of technology. It can happen to people at any age, anytime,
and often anonymously. Examples of cyber-bullying include:
• Posting hurtful messages, images or videos online
• Repeatedly sending unwanted messages online
• Sending abusive texts and emails
• Excluding or intimidating others online
• Creating fake social networking profiles that are hurtful
• Nasty online gossip and chat, and
• Any other form of digital communication which is
discriminatory, intimidating, intended to cause hurt or make
someone fear for their safety.

EMAIL SPAM
• Spam is electronic junk mail – unsolicited
messages sent by email, text message or instant
message without the recipient’s consent.
• Spam messages often contain offers of free goods
or ‘prizes’, cheap products, promises of wealth or
other similar offers.
• You might be asked to pay a joining fee, to buy
something to ‘win’ a prize or to call or text a
telephone number (calls made to these numbers
are charged at premium rates).

EMAIL PHISHING
• Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive
information such as usernames, passwords, and
credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly,
money), often for malicious reasons, by
masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an
electronic communication.
• Phishing messages often pretend to come from
legitimate businesses, such as banks or
telecommunications providers.

IDENTITY THEFT
• Identity theft occurs when a criminal gains access to
your personal information to steal money or gain
other benefits.
• Even if you think thieves only have a small amount
of information about you, they can use it to find
more information about you, including photographs,
your date and place of birth and even information
about your family.
• This can be enough to apply for services, such as a
new bank account.

As a result of Identity Theft a criminal may:
• Trick your bank or financial institution into giving them
access to your money and other accounts.
• Open new accounts and build up debts in your name
which can ruin your credit rating.
• Take control of your accounts, including by changing the
address on your credit card or other accounts so you don’t
receive statements and don’t realise there is a problem.
• Open a phone, internet or other service account in your
name.
• Claim government benefits in your name.
• Use your name to plan or commit criminal activity.
• Pretend to be you to embarrass or misrepresent you, such
as through social media.

ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL
• Material that shows or describes child sexual
abuse or other offences against children is
illegal under Indian laws.
It is an offence to:
• access, possess, distribute, produce, advertise
or make available child pornography or child
abuse material online.

ONLINE SCAMS OR FRAUD
• With the growth in online services and internet
use, there are many opportunities for criminals to
commit scams and fraud.
• These are dishonest schemes that seek to take
advantage of unsuspecting people to gain a
benefit (such as money, or access to personal
details).
• These are often contained in spam &
phishing messages.

Common types of online scams include:
• Unexpected prize scams.
• Unexpected money scams.
• Dating or romance scams.
• Threats and extortion scams.
• Jobs and investment scams.
• Death of a wealthy relative, who left an estate
for you.

ONLINE TRADING ISSUES
Online trading issues involve scammers targeting
people who buy, sell or trade online. There are
many types of scams which aim to rip off
unsuspecting shoppers. Online trading scammers
may:
• Advertise products for sale at cheap prices, and
once purchased the products never arrive.
• Pay the seller a larger amount than advertised,
invent an excuse for the overpayment and then
request the excess amount be repaid either back to
the scammer or to a third party before the seller
realises the fraud.

ONLINE TRADING ISSUES
• Offer ‘miracle’ cures for medical conditions where
none exist (especially for weight loss).
• Target small businesses and attempt to bill them for a
particular service – usually a listing or advertisement –
which the business never asked for.
• Take advantage of natural disasters by impersonating
charities requesting donations.
• Claim your computer is infected with a virus and
request remote access to fix the problem.
• Attract you with offers for ‘free’ goods by subscribing
to few premium services.

PREVALENCE OF CYBER CRIME IN INDIA
• In a recent survey, 49% of the respondents have
experienced cybercrime in the last.
• It is evident that only half of the respondents
have been a victim of cyber attacks in the last
year which indicated that the number of
cybercrime incidents in India has been on rise.
• 48 per cent of the respondents indicated that
they suffer disruption of their business processes
and reputation damage as a result of a cyber
attack.

EXTENT OF CYBER CRIME LOSSES
• It is reported by Business Standard that India has 42
million cyber crimes every year.
• Seven per cent of the estimated global price tag of
cyber crimes are being carried out every year in India.
• The estimated yearly price tag of cyber crime in India is
US $ 8 billion (INR 53 Thousand Crores) whereas the
global bill is US $ 110 billion. ( Total Defence Allocation
for 2015 is Rs. 246 Thousand Crores)
• Eighty-five per cent of the total financial cost of the
cyber crimes are the result of fraud, theft and loss.
Fraud constitutes 42 per cent of the total financial loss.

• Indeed, the average cost per cybercrime
victim in India increased to $207
(around Rs.13,000) in 2013 from $192 a year
earlier. Globally, the cost rose 50% from a year
ago to $298 in 2013.
• Cyber attacks are showing no signs of abating.
India was ranked among the top five countries
to be affected by cybercrime.

PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM CYBER CRIMES

• KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR PHONY EMAIL MESSAGES.
Things that indicate a message may be fraudulent
are: misspellings, poor grammar, odd phrasings, Web
site addresses with strange extensions, Web site
addresses that are entirely numbers where there are
normally words, and anything else out of the
ordinary.
• ADDITIONALLY, PHISHING MESSAGES will often tell
you that you have to act quickly to keep your account
open, update your security, or urge you to provide
information immediately or else something bad will
happen. Don't take the bait.

• DON'T RESPOND TO EMAIL MESSAGES THAT
ASK FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION. Legitimate
companies will not use email messages to ask for
your personal information.
• WHEN IN DOUBT, contact the company by
phone or by typing in the company Web address
into your Web browser.
• DON'T CLICK ON THE LINKS in these messages as
they make take you to a fraudulent, malicious
Web sites.

• STEER CLEAR OF FRAUDULENT WEB SITES USED TO STEAL
PERSONAL INFORMATION. When visiting a Web site, type
the address (URL) directly into the Web browser rather
than following a link within an email or instant message.
• FRAUDSTERS OFTEN FORGE THESE LINKS to make them
look convincing. A shopping, banking or any other Web site
having sensitive information should have an "S" after the
letters "http" (i.e. https://www.yourbank.com) The "s"
stands for secure and should appear when you are in an
area requesting you to login or provide other sensitive
data.
• ANOTHER SIGN THAT YOU HAVE A SECURE CONNECTION
is the small lock icon in the bottom of your web browser
(usually the right-hand corner).

• PAY ATTENTION TO PRIVACY POLICIES ON WEB SITES AND
IN SOFTWARE. It is important to understand how an
organization might collect and use your personal
information before you share it with them.
• GUARD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Spammers and phishers
sometimes send millions of messages to email addresses
that may or may not exist in hopes of finding a potential
victim. Responding to these messages or even
downloading images ensures you will be added to their
lists for more of the same messages in the future.
• ALSO BE CAREFUL WHEN POSTING YOUR EMAIL
ADDRESS ONLINE in newsgroups, blogs or online
communities.

• ONLINE OFFERS THAT LOOK TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
USUALLY ARE ONLY TRAPS.
• The old saying "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE
LUNCH" still rings true today.
• SUPPOSEDLY "FREE" SOFTWARE such as screen
savers or smileys, secret investment tricks sure to
make you untold fortunes, and contests that you've
surprisingly won without entering are the enticing
hooks used by companies to grab your attention.

• REVIEW BANK AND CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS
REGULARLY.
• THE IMPACT OF IDENTITY THEFT and online crimes
can be greatly reduced if you can catch it shortly
after your data is stolen or when the first use of your
information is attempted.
• ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS to get the tip-off that
something has gone wrong is by reviewing the
monthly statements provided by our bank and credit
card companies for anything out of the ordinary.

• CHOOSE STRONG PASSWORDS AND KEEP THEM SAFE.
SELECTING A PASSWORD THAT CANNOT BE EASILY
GUESSED is the first step toward keeping passwords secure
and away from the wrong hands.
• STRONG PASSWORDS HAVE EIGHT CHARACTERS or more
and use a combination of letters, numbers & symbols (e.g.,
# $ % ! ).
• AVOID USING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING AS YOUR
PASSWORD:
your login name, anything based on your personal
information such as your last name, and words that can be
found in the dictionary.
• TRY TO SELECT ESPECIALLY STRONG, UNIQUE PASSWORDS
for protecting activities like online banking.

• KEEP YOUR PASSWORDS IN A SAFE PLACE and
try not to use the same password for every
service you use online.
• CHANGE PASSWORDS ON A REGULAR BASIS, at
least every 90 days. This can limit the damage
caused by someone who has already gained
access to your account.
• IF YOU NOTICE SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS with
one of your online accounts, one of the first steps
you can take is to change your password.

THANKS
TALWANT SINGH
DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE
DELHI (EAST)

Cyber Crime & Precautions

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