by Internet fraud is a type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance. Internet fraud is not considered a single, distinctive crime but covers a range of illegal and illicit actions that are committed in cyberspace. It is, however, differentiated from theft since, in this case, the victim voluntarily and knowingly provides the information, money or property to the perpetrator. It is also distinguished by the way it involves temporally and spatially separated offenders.
According to the FBI’s 2017 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received about 300,000 complaints. Victims lost over $1.4 billion in online fraud in 2017. According to a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and McAfee, cybercrime costs the global economy as much as $600 billion, which translates into 0.8% of total global GDP. Online fraud appears in many forms. It ranges from email spam to online scams. Internet fraud can occur even if partly based on the use of Internet services and is mostly or completely based on the use of the Internet.
Example of online automotive fraud
A fraudster uses the web to advertise a nonexistent vehicle, typically a luxury or sports car, at well below its market value. The details of the vehicle, including photos and description, are typically lifted from sites such as Craigslist, AutoTrader.com, or Cars.com. An interested buyer emails the fraudster, who responds saying the car is still available but is located overseas; or that the seller is out of the country but the car is at a shipping company. The fraudster then instructs the victim to send a deposit or full payment via wire transfer to initiate the “shipping” process. To make the transaction appear more legitimate, the fraudster will ask the buyer to send money to a fake agent or other a third party that claims to provide purchase protection. The victims wire the funds but then do not receive the vehicle. In response, auto sales websites may post warnings to buyers which warn not to accept offers in which vehicles are shipped, where funds are paid using Western Union or wire transfer, etc.
Charity fraud
The scammer poses as a charitable organization soliciting donations to help the victims of a natural disaster, terrorist attack (such as the 9/11 attacks), regional conflict, or epidemic. Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami were popular targets of scammers perpetrating charity scams; other more timeless scam charities purport to be raising money for cancer, AIDS or Ebola virus research, children’s orphanages (the scammer pretends to work for the orphanage or a non-profit associated with it), or impersonates charities such as the Red Cross or United Way. The scammer asks for donations, often linking to online news articles to strengthen their story of a funds drive. The scammer’s victims are charitable people who believe they are helping a worthy cause and expect nothing in return. Once sent, the money is gone and the scammer often disappears, though many attempts to keep the scam going by asking for a series of payments. The victim may sometimes find themselves in legal trouble after deducting their supposed donations from their income taxes. United States tax law states that charitable donations are only deductible if made to a qualified non-profit organization. The scammer may tell the victim their donation is deductible and provide all necessary proof of donation, but the information provided by the scammer is fictional, and if audited, the victim faces stiff penalties as a result of the fraud. Though these scams have some of the highest success rates especially following a major disaster and are employed by scammers all over the world, the average loss per victim is less than other fraud schemes. This is because, unlike scams involving a largely expected payoff, the victim is far less likely to borrow money to donate or donate more than they can spare.
Internet ticket fraud
A variation of Internet marketing fraud offers tickets to sought-after events such as concerts, shows, and sports events. The tickets are fake or are never delivered. The proliferation of online ticket agencies and the existence of experienced and dishonest ticket resellers has fueled this kind of fraud. Many such scams are run by British ticket touts, though they may base their operations in other countries.
A prime example was the global 2008 Beijing Olympic Games ticket fraud run by US-registered “Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality”, sold through a professionally designed website with the name “Beijing 2008 Ticketing”. On 4 August it was reported that more than A$50 million worth of fake tickets had been sold through the website. On 6 August it was reported that the person behind the scam, which was wholly based outside China, was a British ticket tout, Terance Shepherd.
Online gift card fraud
As retailers and other businesses have growing concerns about what they can do about preventing the use of gift cards purchased with stolen credit card numbers, cybercriminals have more recently been focusing on taking advantage of fraudulent gift cards. More specifically, malicious hackers have been trying to get their hands on information pertinent to gift cards that have been issued but not spent. Some of the methods for stealing gift card data include automated bots that launch brute force attacks on retailer systems which store them. First, hackers will steal gift card data, check the existing balance through a retailer’s online service, and then attempt to use those funds to purchase goods or to resell on a third party website. In cases where gift cards are resold, the attackers will take the remaining balance in cash, which can also be used as a method of money laundering. This harms the customer gift card experience, the retailer’s brand perception, and can cost the retailer thousands in revenue. Another way gift card fraud is committed is by stealing a person’s credit card information to purchase brand new gift cards.
Social media and fraud
People tend to disclose more personal information about themselves (e.g. birthday, e-mail, address, hometown and relationship status) in their social networking profiles (Hew 2011). This personally identifiable information could be used by fraudsters to steal users’ identities, and posting this information on social media makes it a lot easier for fraudsters to take control of it.
The problem of authenticity in online reviews is a long-standing and stubborn one. In one famous incident back in 2004, Amazon’s Canadian site accidentally revealed the true identities of thousands of its previously anonymous U.S. book reviewers. One insight the mistake revealed was that many authors were using fake names in order to give their own books favorable reviews. Also, 72% say positive reviews lead them to trust a business more, while 88% say that in “the right circumstances”, they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. While scammers are increasingly taking advantage of the power of social media to conduct criminal activity, astute risk managers and their insurance companies are also finding ways to leverage social media information as a tool to combat insurance fraud. For example, an injured worker was out of work on a worker’s compensation claim but could not resist playing a contact sport on a local semi-professional sports team. Through social media and internet searches, investigators discovered that the worker was listed on the team roster and was playing very well.
Types of internet fraud
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Phishing or email scam
It is a method used by fraudsters to steal your personal information. Under this fraud, fraudsters send you emails by posing as a genuine or reputed company. The primary intention of sending those emails is to steal your bank details. These emails usually will have a link or attachment. If you click on those links, you will be taken to a fake website. The fake website will ask you to provide your sensitive information like card details, UPI code and other bank details. Also, clicking on such links will lead to a virus attack on your computer.
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Online shopping frauds
It is one of the biggest internet frauds since the past few years. Under this, fraudsters set up fake online shopping portals with the intention of cheating innocent people of their hard-earned money. In the website, they display attractive product at a very cheap rate. But, after the purchase is made by paying the money, either the fake product is delivered or the product is not delivered at all. These websites will not have any return or refund policies and also there will be no customer support team to contact.
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Identity theft
Under identity theft, your personal information is stolen by fraudsters through the internet and used to apply for a personal loan, two-wheeler loan or a credit card with a bank. When loans are availed in your name, you will be responsible for its repayment. Banks will send you the notice for repayment. If the loan is not repaid it will have a bad impact on your credit score and you will be marked a loan defaulter.
Also, the stolen information of yours can be used to create fake social media accounts.
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Work from home scam
Work from home scam is one of the serious internet fraud. Under this, fraudsters dupe people who are looking for work from home opportunities by promising that they will earn handsome money, just by working for a few hours from home. To register for the scheme, job seekers will be asked to deposit a certain amount of money for job kit which is useful for the work. After the money is deposited, there will be no track of employers.
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Lottery fraud
Lottery fraud is one among the top three internet frauds in India. Under lottery fraud, fraudsters call you or send emails and messages stating you have won a lottery worth rupees some crore. To receive the lottery money, you will be asked to transfer money online in the name of tax. Sometimes you will be asked to pay money by visiting fake websites. When you try to make payment using those websites, all your card details will be stolen.
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Matrimonial frauds
In this busy lifestyle, people prefer online matrimonial sites to find their life partners. But, the sad part here is a lot of people lose lakhs of money while finding their soulmates on the matrimonial sites. Fraudsters dupe innocent people by creating fake profiles. Also, there are many gangs set up to carry out this fraud. Under this fraud, first, fraudsters make victims believe them. Once the trust is created, money is looted from the victims.
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Tax scams
This fraud normally takes place during the tax season when taxpayers will be waiting for their tax refund. Fraudsters send fake refund SMS and emails to taxpayers claiming to be from the income tax department. These notifications are mainly sent with the intention of collecting their personal information like login details of I-T Department website, bank details and so on. To credit the refund money to your bank account, you will be asked to provide your sensitive bank information.
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Credit card reward point fraud
Reward points or loyalty points are offered by the credit card companies to promote the usage of a credit card. Frauds are also taken place in the name of credit card reward point. Fraudsters call credit cardholders claiming to be from their credit card company and tell them that they would help them in redeeming their credit card reward point. They create urgency among cardholders stating offer will end very soon. To redeem the reward points, cardholders will be asked to provide their card details along with OTP. Fraudsters carry out fraudulent transactions using these details.
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Frauds on OLX
Frauds on OLX have become very common and many people have lost their money while buying and selling products on the website. The fraud which normally takes place on OLX is, fraudsters pose as Army personnel and post their advertisement on the website. Fraudsters use the stolen Id card of army personnel to make people trust them. They collect money from the buyer for the advertised product but they will never deliver the product. Here goodwill associated with the armed forces is used by fraudsters to cheat people of their hard-earned money.
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Social media frauds
With the number of people using social media, social media frauds are on the rise. Cyberbullying is one of the biggest social media fraud to which many teenagers have fallen prey. Under cyberbullying social media sites are used to bully people. Also, there are many other social media frauds like a Facebook friend fraud.
