Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Fraud

Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Fraud (current edition)

1. Fraud, that is, theft of someone else’s property or the acquisition of rights to someone else’s property through deception or abuse of trust, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to one hundred twenty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to three hundred and sixty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to one year, or by restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to four months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.

2. Fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, as well as causing significant damage to a citizen, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years. with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one year or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one year or without it.

3. Fraud committed by a person using his official position, as well as on a large scale, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to eighty thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one and a half years or without it.

4. Fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale or resulting in the deprivation of a citizen’s right to residential premises, -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to ten years with or without a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years and with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

5. Fraud associated with deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations in the field of business activity, if this act entailed causing significant damage -

6. The act provided for in part five of this article, committed on a large scale, -

7. An act provided for in part five of this article, committed on an especially large scale, -

Notes. 1. Significant damage in part five of this article is considered to be damage in an amount of at least ten thousand rubles.

2. Large size in part six of this article is the value of property exceeding three million rubles.

3. In part seven of this article, the value of property exceeding twelve million rubles is recognized as particularly large in size.

4. Parts five to seven of this article apply to cases of deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations in the field of business activity, when the parties to the agreement are individual entrepreneurs and (or) commercial organizations.

Types of fraud on the Internet

Fraud has one feature that makes it difficult to investigate - in most cases, the victim, of his own free will, provides information to the criminals that leads to the loss of his money. Types of fraudulent activities in cyberspace:

Online stores. A huge number of stores offer low prices on goods. This attracts people, they pay money for a virtually selected product. After the money arrives in the seller’s account, it disappears, leaving the buyer without money and goods. The second type of deception in an online store: instead of the declared item, a bad copy is sent by mail, cheaper and of worse quality.
Creating copies of bank websites. The scammer who created this site invites the user by email or SMS to log in to it. When a user lands on a fake website, he logs into his personal account, revealing logins and passwords to access his accounts. Using this data, the fraudster empties the bank account.
Hacking electronic wallets. This type of receiving and storing money has become popular in recent years. The fraudster can send a message about the operator’s loss of credentials with a request to send them again. After receiving this data, he will empty the wallet.
Emails. A letter arrives in the mail with a message about the won valuable prize. To receive it, the winner must transfer a certain amount to the account specified in the letter.
SMS message from the bank about account blocking. After this message they ask you to transfer money to unblock it.
Fake airline websites. Prices that are too low, a request to transfer money to an electronic wallet, or a foreign bank account are points that should alert the buyer.
Imaginary charitable purposes. A story appears online about a child who needs urgent surgery abroad. This is where the money is collected.
Distant work. Some unscrupulous employers offer work from home with advance payment for organizational needs. Even after completing the proposed work, the contractor will not receive money for it and will waste his money and time.

The understanding that the possibilities of the Internet are limitless does not add to optimism. This means that scammers will come up with new schemes to deceive people.

Commentary to Art. 159.6 Criminal Code

1. The corpus delicti is characterized by a special method of committing a crime - deception by entering, deleting, blocking, modifying computer information or otherwise interfering with the functioning of means of storing, processing or transmitting computer information or information and telecommunication networks.

2. The entry of computer information should be understood as the introduction (installation) into the electronic memory of a computer, other devices capable of performing the functions of receiving, processing, storing and issuing information in electronic form, including mobile phones, smartphones, on-board computers of vehicles, control cash registers, ATMs, etc., data necessary for the execution of a computer program, or the programs themselves. The deletion (destruction) of information should be understood as bringing information or part of it into an unusable state, which prevents its retrieval from the corresponding section of computer memory, other device, removable media or Internet site, regardless of the possibility of restoring this information. Renaming the file where it is contained, as well as automatically replacing the updated file, does not constitute destruction of information. Blocking information is a temporary or permanent restriction or actual blocking of access to it, characterized by the impossibility of using information for its intended purpose in full or in the required mode, but not associated with its (deletion) destruction. When modified, the content of information changes, making it difficult to perceive it in its original form. A change in information that does not lead to a distortion of its semantic content, for example, a change in font, style, or text size, does not constitute a modification.

3. In contrast to the crimes provided for in Art. 170.1 and 185.2 of the Criminal Code, the commented article assumes, firstly, responsibility for a wider range of fraudulent transactions (not only in the securities market) and, secondly, for successful fraud. Attempted theft of securities in this manner is qualified under Art. 170.1 and 185.2 of the Criminal Code.

4. If the fraud provided for in Art. 159.1 - 159.5 of the Criminal Code, was committed as specified in Art. 159.6 of the Criminal Code, qualification is carried out according to Art. 159.1 - 159.5 CC.

5. If fraud in the field of computer information was associated with the commission of acts, liability for which is established by Art. 272 and 273 of the Criminal Code, the act is qualified as a set of crimes.

How to avoid becoming a victim of scammers on the Internet

Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs recommend following the rules to protect yourself and your money:

When turning to the services of an online store, choose a trusted supplier, pay attention to the duration of the site’s existence and its design. The price is too low compared to the existing average market level, the lack of a telephone number or legal address of the organization for feedback may indicate the seller’s dishonesty. Serious sellers will not ask to transfer money for goods to a phone account or e-wallet.
Do not give your bank card details, passwords, or accounts to strangers, regardless of who the fraudster appears to be.
If you receive a notification about a large win in a lottery in which you did not participate, ignore this notification and do not transfer money.
When receiving messages from the bank, contact the bank's hotline and clarify the situation.
If you receive a message about the need for a new registration on the website of the bank that services the account, do not try to register again. It is better to contact the bank and clarify the reason for the application.
Purchase air tickets only on trusted, reputable sites. Flight numbers and directions can be double-checked on the official website of the carrier airline.
Never open or download unknown programs or applications. They may contain paid subscriptions or viruses that give access to bank account and card data.
Before helping a patient, contact your family and doctors, try to make sure their intentions are honest. Donate to a real child who really needs help.

Internet fraud is a crime associated with the theft of other people's funds. Like any illegal actions, it is punishable. Methods for identifying fraudsters are being improved, but at the same time, each of us must improve our information literacy, be more vigilant and judicious in relation to our property.

Where to report scammers

When faced with an online scam, the victim wonders where to go to get their money back. In this case, you should report:

To the police. This type of offense is dealt with by a special unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
To the technical support service of the payment system that carries out money transfers.
In Roskomnadzor, which controls the activities of organizations providing services in the field of electronic technologies.

There is no point in trying to find scammers on your own. Since cheating on the Internet is a crime, it is the task of the police to find the criminals and bring them to justice.

What to do if you were deceived with a parcel

I think everyone is familiar with the footage when a person opens a package with a smartphone purchased via the Internet, and there turns out to be a brick. And of course, the goods were pre-paid.

In this case, there is also fraud. Parcels with expensive contents should be opened directly at the Post Office. For the investigation, it is extremely important to obtain witnesses, who will be post office employees.

And here you also need to contact the police, write a statement and wait for a criminal case to be initiated. In such cases, fraud is often widespread; cases from different parts of Russia can be generalized.

Grounds for liability

The subject of the act specified in Art. 159, part 3 of the Criminal Code, specific. According to general principles, sane individuals over the age of 16 are held accountable. As for the part under consideration, the subject may be a person who holds a certain post. Large size is another sign that makes it possible to apply Art. 159, part 3. The commentary to the norm indicates that the amount of damage in value (monetary) terms should not be more than a million rubles, but not less than 250 thousand. If the amount of harm falls outside the specified framework, other parts of the article under consideration are used.

Aggravating and mitigating circumstances

Criminals have the right to receive a reduced sentence:

underage;
pregnant women;
who are fathers or mothers of young children;
those who committed a crime due to difficult life circumstances;
committing an offense under duress;
provoked by the victim;
those who filed a confession and provided all possible assistance to the investigation;
providing assistance to the victim.

Note! In some cases, the repentance of criminals allows them to completely avoid punishment for petty fraud. This opportunity is available only to attackers who have committed a crime of up to moderate severity.

During the court hearing, the public prosecutor has the right to demand an increase in the term or amount of the fine in the presence of the following circumstances:

relapse;
the presence of serious consequences that resulted from fraud;
committing a crime in a group;
increased activity during the commission of an offense;
involvement of incapacitated or minor citizens in crime;
the presence of specific motives;
the victim was in the performance of his duty at the time of the fraud;
the victim is a pregnant woman or a defenseless person;
the use of measures of extreme cruelty during the commission of an atrocity;
use of official position;
use of government identification;
the crime was committed by a person who is the parent of a minor teenager.

Where to go to get your money back

To return money lost as a result of fraudulent actions, the victim can contact any police department and write a statement. This needs to be done as quickly as possible after losing money. An urgent response from the victim will allow prompt action to be taken. In this case, there is a possibility of returning the lost money. It is advisable to attach to the application the website address, printouts of written communications, the account number for the transfer, and the phone number from which the information came.

You can also leave a statement on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website, attaching screenshots of existing correspondence with the fraudster.

Important!
Even if the amount of damage is small, you should definitely file a report with the police.