How To Deal With Cyber Crimes In India ?

 A cybercrime could be understood as the type of criminal activity committed using a computer, a networked device, or any other type of device related to the same.

In simple terms, when a technology is used to commit traditional offences such as  robbery, theft, false representation or when carrying out any deliberate attack such as  hacking the security system of a location, where entry is not allowed. 

Such crimes could be committed against an individual, company or a Nation itself, impacting the political, economic or military arena of such country.

Types of Cyber Crime

The following are considered to be types of cyber-crimes:

Child pornography or child sexually abusive material (CSAM):

In its simplest sense, child sexual abuse materials (CSAMs) include any material containing sexual images in any form, wherein both the child being exploited or abused may be seen. There is a provision in Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act which states that the publication or transmission of material depicting children in sexually explicit acts in an electronic form is punishable.

The different kinds of cyber crimes have been mentioned here under-

• Cyberbullying:

When someone harasses or bullies others by using digital technology and electronic devices including the  computers, mobile phones, laptops, etc., such act would be referred to as cyber bullying. Digital platforms such as social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, or mobile devices may also be involved in the act of cyber bullying.

• Cyberstalking:

The persistent, methodical and deliberate act of stalking another person online with the help of internet as well as other technologies, or harassing the targeted person by texts, emails, social media posts, or any other form could be referred to as cyberstalking.

• Cyber grooming:

The cases where, a person lures, teases or even pressurises a teenager to perform sexual means by using digital platforms, will be referred to as cyber grooming. 

• Online sextortion:

The cases where a person threatens an individual of publishing sensitive and private materials related to him or her by using digital means, with an intension of getting sexual images, sexual favours, or money from such individuals will be referred to as cases of online sextortion.

• Phishing:

Such instances where one would receive emails from a legitimate source, however a malicious attachment would also be there with such emails, in order to steal personal information  of the recipient including their ID, Card Number, CVV, expiration date, etc. and then selling such information on the dark web. 

• Vishing:

Using the methods of sophisticated social engineering techniques to steal confidential information from an individual’s phone or to access their personal accounts. 

Similar to the cases of phishing and smishing, in the cases of vishing, the cyber criminals would often pretend to be from the government, tax department, police department, or victim’s bank, while stealing sensitive information. 

• Smishing:

The acts of smishing such frauds which use text messages from mobile phones in order to to trick the victims to call fake phone number, or visit some fraudulent website or to  download such malicious software on the victim’s computer. 

• Credit or Debit Card Fraud:

In such cases, unauthorised purchases or withdrawals would be made from another person’s card.

Such frauds may be caused when the cyber criminal gains access to the debit/credit card  number of the victim, or his personal identification number (PIN). such information could be obtained by unscrupulous employees or hackers.  

• Impersonation or Identity Theft:

The cases of impersonation or identity theft would take place when the cyber criminal uses the electronic signature, password or any other unique identifier of any other person with a wrongful intention.

Cyber Laws in India

Information Technology Act, 2000:

With an extensive use of internet, cyber laws are becoming very important in countries like India. Information Technology Act, 2000, regulates the cyber laws in India. Main objective to introduce this Act was to ensure a legal protection to the field of eCommerce, as well as to ensure the protection of rights of people using various digital platforms.  The Act of 2000 provides for severe punishments as well as fines in order to protect the e-government, e-banking, and e-commerce industries. The scope of ITA is continuously increasing with development of the technology and introduction of numerous communication devices.

In case you wish to seek legal consultation for issues related to cyber frauds, you may contact us at Sharks of Law.

 A few important provisions of the Act have been discussed here under-

• Section 43:

If the computer of a person is damaged without his consent, he is completely entitled to a refund of the damage caused.

• Section 66:

If a person commits an act, as mentioned under Section 43 of the Act, with a dishonest or fraudulent intention, he shall be punishable for a term extending upto three years or a fine fine of an amount extending upto Rs 5 lakhs or both.

• Section 66B:

Any person who has received or retained such computer resource or communication device, which he had knowledge of being stolen, shall be punishable for a term extending upto 3 years or a fine extending upto 1 Lakh or both.

• Section 66C:

Committing acts such as password hacking, digital signatures, or other acts of identity thefts, will be punishable for a term of 3 years as well as a fine of Rs 1 Lakh

• Section 66D:

Cheating a  person by personation using digital mediums, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term extending upto 3 years and a fine extending to an amount of Rs 1 lakh

• Section 66E: 

Taking, publishing or transmitting pictures of private areas of a person without his or her consent, shall be punishable with an imprisonment of a term of upto 3 years and/ or a fine of an amount of Rs 2 lakhs..

• Section 66F: 

An individual convicted of cyber terrorism may face an imprisonment for life term.

• Section 67: 

This involves electronically publishing obscenities. If a person gets convicted of publishing obscenities electronically, he or she may be facing imprisonment for a term of about 5 years and a fine of an amount of Rs 10 lakh.

Indian Penal Code, 1980

Offences related to identity theft and other related cyber crimes will be prosecuted under Information Technology Act of 2000 as well as the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 both.

Some of the sections of IPC dealing with Cyber Frauds are-

• Forgery (Section 464)
• False documentation (Section 465)
• Forgery pre-planned for cheating (Section 468)
• Damage to the Reputation (Section 469)
• Presenting a forged document as a genuine document (Section 471)

How to Report a Cyber Crime in India ?

The Government of India, has provided a portal by the name of The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, in order to help the victims to report a cyber crime. One could register all kinds of cyber crime issues including the crimes against women and children. Some of the highlights of NCRP are-

• Helpline Number 1930: when fallen a victim to a financial fraud, one may call the national cyber helpline 1930. The victim would have to provide the necessary details when registering the complaint including name, contact, details of the account from which money was transferred.
• Report anonymously: the portal also provide the option of reporting cyber crimes without having to provide your information, except a comprehensive information of the incident would have to be provided in order to take action against such incident.
• Registering Mobile Number: In order to report a complaint, the complainant would have to register on the portal, where an OTP would be sent for verification.
• Tracking the complaint: After having filed the complaint, the complainant could track the status of the complaint as well. 
• Contact Nearest Police Station as urgently possible: If a complaint cannot be filed using the NCRP, the victim could visit the nearest police station as well so as to have his or her complaint register. The case would then be treated respectively and would be transferred to the cyber wing for further investigation.

Conclusion

Internet is a global phenomenon, drawing numerous criminal activities as well. India, with the IT Act has tried to deal with such situations as appropriately as the situation demands, the Act having provisions to deal with various situations as possible. However, there may arise some situation where one is not sure as to how to deal with such circumstance. Here, it is advised to seek legal consultation for the same, so as to ensure that your rights are not being infringed and proper actions are being taken to deal with your problem. 

Sharks of Law offers you necessary legal consultation, as per the requirement so your case as well as proper assistance require when reporting a cyber crime. Thus, if you wish to talk to a lawyer for any issue related to cyber crimes or cyber frauds, you may contact us.

Email:-helpdesk@sharksoflaw.com

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