November 19, 2020 Information Security 101 on Technological Theft Crimes

Different types of technological theft crimes and how to effectively deal with them.

What are the different types of technological theft crimes? This article will try to describe what these crimes are so you’ll know how to effectively deal with them in case you encounter them in the future.

1. Credit Card Fraud

Credit card fraud can occur in many ways and is usually done through a computer. This type of fraud can happen at the end of the month when you get your next bill or it can happen over the phone when you send or receive money with your credit cards.

Credit card fraud can also occur through another financial institution, but not all banks and financial institutions are equally at risk. If you have never had a problem before, chances are your bank and financial institution has a great safety net, since most banks and financial institutions don’t do business with each other.

Credit card fraud can be categorized into two broad types:

1. Identity Theft
   It refers to fraudulent activities that are done by someone else to gain access to someone else’s personal and financial information, such as Social Security number (SSN) or a bank account number.Here’s how identity thieves work:
   • Identity thieves typically target an individual through the use of email and social networking.
   • These are ways that the identity thief gains access to the information about a person’s bank accounts, credit card information, or other financial data.
   • Once the criminal has access to this information, they can take out loans from the accounts, charge high interest rates, and even start up new accounts in the name of someone else. This is exactly what happened to the fictitious names that were used by the scam artist in order to steal identity and money from unsuspecting people in the hope that they would just go away without ever knowing it.
   • It is also important to realize that some identity theft is done by someone who does not even know that they have done it. Instead of stealing information from others, they will try and find out personal information on an individual. This is called a SSN look up, and these types of identity theft are done by people that have no intention of doing anything illegal. When they discover that they have found someone else’s information, they usually delete the account from their own accounts, leaving no proof that they did so.
2. Transaction Fraud
   It is an activity that occurs in the process of actually making a purchase, whether it is on a credit or debit card, or on a merchant’s website. One thing that you can do to prevent this kind of crime is to take precautions when completing an online transaction, including the following:
   • Before you order anything, make sure that you are dealing with a trustworthy site that is authorized to accept your credit card.
   • Once the transaction is completed, never ever give your payment information to anyone else on the site.
   • You should also check your credit card statements regularly so that you can monitor your credit card transactions.

2. Ransomware Attack

One of the most common cybercrimes is the infliction of ransomware, which is malicious software preventing or restricting a user from accessing his computer system due to encrypting computer files or freezing the computer screen unless the user pays the ransom demand.

3. Social Media Deception

With social media deception, cybercriminals log into social media accounts using illegally-acquired login credentials (email address, username, and password). Here’s how social media deception works:

• Cybercriminals post offensive photos and videos and even send deceptive messages to the original owner’s friends available on their contact list.
• Cybercriminals request the user’s loved ones to reload cards or buy virtual cards on their behalf.
• Cybercriminals may also ask for passwords, authorization codes, serial numbers, and card pin codes.
• Once cybercriminals obtain sensitive information, they could not be contacted anymore.

Always be sure to regularly change your password and set up two-step verification to minimize chances of people stealing into your social media accounts.

4. E-Banking Fraud

The phrase “e-banking fraud” sounds like a new invention in the financial market. However, this is actually a term used to describe illegal activities committed in banks through computerized transactions. The term itself can be defined as the unauthorized access to bank accounts by the use of fraudulent means or false documents.

If you believe that you’re a victim of e-banking fraud, contact an expert lawyer, such as one at Clark, Clark, & Noonan, LLC.

Here’s how e-banking or online banking fraud works:

• These acts are done by people using electronic banking equipment or software. Most of these incidents can be easily solved if the victims can detect the problem early on.
• Another form of fraudulent activity is the creation of false account statements or credit card numbers. Many times, these kinds of fraudulent activity occur due to the failure of the bank or the payment processor to provide the customer with a proper authorization. This situation can be detected if the customer gives an e-banking id number or password when accessing his account.

5. Email Scam or Phishing

When you receive an email from a company that says they are sending you a free product but the email is full of hype and sounds too good to be true, you should not take it seriously. It is because this could be phishing or email scam. Email scams are on the rise in this day and age, and they often lead people down a dead end with no real information about the free item, they claim to have sent them.

You may not even realize that the email has come from an Internet scammer until you check your spam folder. If you do, however, you will notice that the email address was flagged as spam. This is a warning sign for anyone who receives a spam email. You can easily ignore the spam if you are receiving it from a legitimate source such as a website.

There are many ways you can avoid being scammed by an email, but there are some steps you must take in order to protect yourself from scam emails, including the following:

• Don’t Respond: Never respond to an email with any questions. Once an email is opened and a response is received, the scammer has already used their time and resources to send another email asking for personal information from you. If an email asks for the money back guarantee, you need to delete that email immediately.
• Investigate: When an email is sent from a reputable company such as Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo, it will include a signature line at the bottom. The signature line contains a URL or domain name. This can be a good way to identify an email as a legitimate one and give you a bit more time to investigate the email before deleting it. However, if you see an email that has the signature line at the top and the sender address at the bottom, this email may have been sent by an Internet scammer.
• Don’t Easily Believe: Many scams will leave a message to try and convince you that the product you are trying to purchase is a scam or you need to pay a fee before you can get the product. It is important to not fall for these kinds of scam emails and never respond to a scam email. because the scammer could use your personal information for his or her own personal gain.

6. Social Networking Traps

Because of rapidly advancing technology, information technology and computers have brought convenience to the masses. Digital technology allows people from all age groups and all walks of life to access the internet and obtain information, opening opportunities for cyberattacks, such as online social networking traps.

7. Internet Blackmail

When it comes to Internet blackmail, the definition is pretty straightforward. In most cases, a person who is blackmailed is forced to divulge personal and financial information via the Internet in exchange for the promise of a favor, such as a job, or even a date. Sometimes you may be blackmailed for things you once did and decided to hide instead of seeking help from the professionals:

While the Internet is considered to be a safe haven from physical threats, there are still people who are willing to use Internet blackmail to make people do their bidding.

Here are some examples of internet blackmailing:

• One common sign of online blackmail is when a cyber-criminal uses the internet to make someone break a contract. For example, they could send someone a threat via email that if they don’t pay them back, they will tell all of their friends and family.
• There are some instances when an online blackmailer might even threaten to harm or kill their target. These are not necessarily done with malicious intent, but they are serious threats.
• Another form of online blackmail that can be done is when someone uses the Internet to expose someone else’s identity. In other words, they would post an ad on a dating site or in classified ads that say something like, “I have a secret admirer,” or, “I’ve been spending time with my girlfriend.” In some cases, a cyber stalker will use this kind of cyber stalking as a way to try and contact their target; they may even post messages on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace that seem to come from their victim or try to trick their target into revealing their identity online.

There are other types of online blackmail as well, but the ones mentioned above are the most common. It’s very important to be aware of your own privacy online and to never give your personal information to anyone you don’t know. If an online cyber stalker seems to be getting closer to your life or someone else in your life, it’s very important that you report them to the authorities immediately, so that they don’t get any more opportunities to cause you pain or damage.

Tips on How to Protect Yourself from Technological Theft Crimes

Fraud is a serious crime and there are several laws and rules that can help you in fighting against it. The first step towards preventing it is to get a proper understanding about the nature of transactions that take place on the internet.

Take a look at the other information security tips below:

1. Never sign up for any new online accounts and always check that they are secure and password protected. Use different passwords and ensure that you are aware of your online banking and credit card usage.
2. Do all you can to monitor your bank account and bank statements.
3. Update your computer and internet software regularly. If you suspect that your computer has become infected by any virus or spyware, delete the files immediately. This is especially important if your computer is shared by your friends and family.
4. Protect your network by blocking all the ways that your identity can be stolen by online phishing attacks. In addition to your network, you can also use firewalls, anti-virus software and various other security programs on your computer to keep it safe from hackers.
5. Use passwords and encryption keys to make it impossible for hackers to access your data.
6. Never give your credit card details online unless absolutely necessary. It is not good practice to give out your social security number or bank details over the phone or email, because these details are often vulnerable to hackers. Once you receive a phone call from a telemarketer or an email asking for payment, immediately tell the caller to hang up and call back.
7. Be careful when entering your bank or credit card details on web pages. Never enter sensitive information such as bank account numbers, PIN numbers, and passwords on webpages that request such personal details, because even though you know the site is legitimate, chances are high that some unscrupulous criminals will also have it.

Conclusion

Credit card fraud can take place during the processing of a purchase, on the website, or through another company where the person who has issued the credit card has not had the consumer’s authorization to do so. By installing and running a virus scanner and virus protection software, you can help to prevent your computer from being infected further. be very wary about giving out your personal details over the internet. Never ever give your email address over the phone or email, because these are two of the most common ways that thieves can obtain your information.

Amy Powell

Amy Powell is an aspiring lawyer who spends most of her time researching and writing about this topic. Today, Amy has several thousands of readers on her law-focused blog. Amy also works with other websites by contributing content on law.

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