Cybercrime is a new and one of the fastest-growing forms of transnational crime. The Internet has become an almost indispensable means of daily communication and information exchange worldwide, and criminals are quick to exploit this. Two billion Internet users globally create an ideal environment for committing crimes, where one can act anonymously and access any personal information that we, willingly or unwillingly, post online. In recent years, Internet security has faced more serious threats, with over 431 million adult users suffering from cybercrimes in the global cyberspace.
What is Cybercrime
Currently, a range of terms are used to describe computer-related crimes: "information crime," "cybercrime," "crime in the sphere of computer information," "high-tech crime," and "virtual crime."
According to the current legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the concept of "computer crime" includes:
1) crimes against information security (modification of computer information, unauthorised access to computer information, computer sabotage, unlawful possession of computer information, development, use, or distribution of malicious software, violation of computer system or network operation rules, etc.);
2) theft using computer technology;
3) production and distribution of pornographic materials or items of a pornographic nature, including those depicting minors;
4) other crimes related in one way or another to the use of computer technology: incitement to suicide through systematic humiliation of personal dignity by disseminating information online; disclosure of medical secrets; unlawful collection or dissemination of private information; defamation; insult; dissemination of false information about goods and services; knowingly false report of danger; espionage; wilful or negligent disclosure of state secrets;
intentional disclosure of official secrets, etc.
Thus, computer crimes include offences where computer technology is used as a tool for committing a crime or as the subject of a criminal offence.
Cybercrime takes various forms, most commonly crimes related to personal data. These can be committed through "phishing" (deceiving Internet users to make them disclose their personal data), malware (software installed without the user's knowledge that collects personal data), and hacking (unlawfully gaining remote access to someone else's computer). Typically, such methods are used by fraudsters to steal credit card data and funds. Furthermore, crimes related to copyright and intellectual property infringement, as well as the distribution of child pornography and violent material, are increasingly committed via the Internet.
How to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime?
1. Never, under any circumstances, disclose your bank account or bank card details to anyone, including individuals claiming to be bank or law enforcement officers, unless you can reliably verify their identity.
If you receive a call from a "bank employee," you should ask for their surname and phone number, then end the call and contact the bank yourself.
Please note that a genuine bank employee will know the following information: the cardholder's surname, passport details, the cards issued, and the account balance.
Do not disclose the following information during phone calls (even to a bank employee) or through social media communication: the full card number, its expiry date, the CVC/CVV code (on the back of the card), internet banking login and password, passport details, or the code word (numeric code) from SMS messages.
If a "bank employee" informs you during a conversation that unauthorized transactions are occurring with your card, you should state that you will visit the bank in person – all such issues must be resolved at a bank branch, not over the phone.
ATTENTION: remember that bank employees never use instant messaging applications (Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp) to contact clients.
2. For online payments, you should only usesecure payment services, always checking the domain name of the resource in the browser's address bar.
3. Bank cards, their photographs and details should not be stored in places accessible to unauthorized persons; this also applies to photographs and other types of confidential information.
4. Online payments related to prepayment and transfer of deposits for goods and services, charitable and sponsorship assistance to organizations and individuals should be avoided if there is no reliable data that these entities are who they claim to be.
5. Money should not be transferred to electronic wallet accounts, bank payment card accounts, SIM card accounts at the request of Internet users.
6. To access remote banking systems (internet banking, mobile banking), electronic mailboxes, social media accounts, and other resources, complex passwords that exclude the possibility of guessing them must be used. Passwords such as birth dates, names, and surnames – that is, those that are easily calculated from publicly available information sources (e.g., social media) – should be avoided.
7. When filling out payment documents, it is important to check the payment details of the recipient of funds.
8. If messages are received on social networks from persons in the "friends" category, requesting bank payment card details, such messages should not be answered, but these users should be contacted directly through other means of communication.
9. If a social media account hacking incident is detected, access to it must be restored immediately with the help of the support service or blocked, and persons with whom communication was carried out through these social networks must be warned about this incident.
10. Files received from unfamiliar email addresses and messenger accounts must not be opened; links in messages about prizes and winnings must not be followed.
11. Licensed software must be used, software and operating systems must be regularly updated; an antivirus program must be installed not only on a personal computer but also on a smartphone, tablet, and regularly updated.
12. The listed security rules should be familiarized with your relatives and acquaintances who, due to age or insufficient financial literacy, may be
are particularly vulnerable to the actions of cybercriminals.
Department of Law and Order and Prevention of the Lepel District Executive Committee Department of Internal Affairs