Fraud on the Internet - where to contact and how to protect yourself

Fraud is considered one of the most sophisticated types of crime. After all, the criminal is faced with the task of not only taking possession of other people’s money or property - he needs to figure out how to deceive or skillfully gain the trust, sometimes of a complete stranger. If you fall for a scammer, don’t hesitate to contact the police - half of these dealers are sure that no one will sound the alarm and continue to engage in their criminal activities. In order for law enforcement agencies to take action in a timely manner and the deceiver to be punished, it is necessary to prepare a statement to the police regarding fraud.

Online fraud: types

There are many ways to deceive people over the Internet.
The ingenuity of scammers knows no bounds; new techniques are constantly appearing aimed at luring money out of Internet users. It is impossible to describe all types of fraud, so below is general information about methods of deception, grouped according to similar characteristics. Existing types of fraud on the Internet can be divided into 2 large groups:

1. Software. Money is written off from the user using special means: viruses, fake sites, etc.
2. Psychological. The basis for fraud is the human factor: users independently transfer money to the accounts of criminals, believing in the story they set out.

How to find the required OEBiPK?

Each city has its own division of this department. You can determine the required OESiPK for those living in a big city in the following way:

• find out which district the address where the applicant lives belongs to (this can be done using an Internet search engine or an address book);
• Type “police department” into an Internet search engine and then indicate the area.

As a rule, police departments have official websites where you can see whether the applicant's address belongs to this department or not. You can also call the department’s duty department and clarify whether you have decided to apply correctly.

Fraud using software tools

Examples of online fraud carried out using various software include:

1. Phishing. A message is sent to your email/phone asking you to confirm your password to use a bank card or log into your account on a website. Fraudsters report that if you refuse to provide such information, access to the card or resource will be limited. The user submits the required data, after which the fraudsters have the opportunity to unlimitedly use the card or account in their own interests.
2. Debiting funds via SMS. To complete registration on the site or gain access to download a file, the user is asked to go through an identification procedure confirming that he is not a bot (a program that automatically generates new accounts or continuously downloads files from the server). To do this, the site owners suggest using a mobile phone. An SMS message with an access code to the system is sent to the number specified by the user. It must be entered into the appropriate field on the page that opens. The following are several possible scenarios:

• All funds on it are debited from the user's account;
• funds are debited not only from the account, but also from bank cards linked to the phone number;
• a subscription to paid services is automatically formed, as a result of which the user’s phone balance is regularly reduced by a certain amount.

1. Fake sites. Instead of the official website of a bank or online store, the virus program transfers the user to a fake website that has a similar design and differs by one or more letters/numbers in the domain name. The user, unaware of the substitution, places an order on it, pays for it, and the money goes to the fraudster’s account. The payer, of course, will not wait for his purchase.

Reasons for complaints to OEBiPK (OBEP)

There are many legal grounds for filing a complaint, here are just a few:

On these grounds, you can complain about the organization.

In addition, a worker can file a complaint against an employer if:

• the employee is not registered, he can be left without work at any time, without any explanations or social guarantees, the fact of violations is obvious;
• if employees are not officially registered, it means that the employer does not pay payments to the state budget, and therefore it is possible that he is also concealing profits, which is detrimental to the state treasury.

To begin with, you can contact the labor inspectorate if they do not want to officially employ you. The control body does not respond to your requests? Then feel free to write to the Department for Combating Economic Crimes (OBEP). In this case, the issue will be resolved immediately.

Psychological Fraud

The following methods of online fraud fall into this category:

1. Imaginary charity. Treatment of seriously ill children, assistance to fire victims, restoration of churches and shelters, etc. - social networks are full of requests for help in such situations. Despite all the moral nuances of holding such collections, scammers often create fake pages using other people’s photographs and documents confirming the fact of their need for money. To protect yourself from this type of deception, you should transfer money only through large charitable foundations or, if the details of a private person are used for collection, require the presentation of original documents (or scanned copies with the id of the group or page through which the collection is made).
2. Selling a non-existent product or a product that does not have the stated characteristics. The buyer, seeing an attractive price, seeks to take advantage of the offer and transfers money to the online store or private seller. At best, he will receive products that do not correspond to the order, and at worst, he will be left without money and without a package.
3. Selling online courses. With the development of digital technologies, it has become easier to obtain the necessary knowledge: you don’t need to go to the library for a specific book, just download an electronic textbook or video lesson. There are decent video courses, the creators of which really understand the subject and share their knowledge with other people. However, there is a lot of various garbage on the Internet, purchasing which users waste their money. “How to make a million without any effort”, “How to build muscles in 2 days” are vivid examples of what courses you don’t need to buy.

Determination of limitation periods

The statute of limitations for fraud differs depending on the severity of the fraudulent crime committed. For minor offenses that were committed personally (not by a group of persons), the general statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of commission of the crime. If the fraud was committed by a group of persons, then this period increases to four calendar years. In cases where damage was caused on a particularly large scale (more than one million rubles), the statute of limitations is ten years.

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The claim of fraud will be accepted even after the expiration of the above period, but it cannot be satisfied according to the current legislation.

To determine the time from which the statute of limitations for fraud begins, you should know several basic regulatory points:

1. According to the law, the statute of limitations should begin to count on the day the victim became aware of the potential fraudster's unlawful intentions. For example, if, according to the contract, you were supposed to receive paid for goods on a certain day, but they did not deliver them (and the supplier does not get in touch), then this very day should be considered the beginning of the limitation period report.
2. If, according to an agreement or receipt, funds (or goods) must be received after a certain period (for example, a month), then the limitation period begins precisely at the moment the funds or goods do not arrive.

In other cases, you should begin your report from the date you became aware of the misconduct.

Checking an online store for fraud

To avoid falling for scammers, you should choose only trusted online stores and not pay in advance for orders made through social networks or classifieds sites.

If the product is extremely necessary or the price is very attractive, you should check the online store for fraud before placing an order. To do this you can:

• Find out the domain registration date. If the site was created recently (a week or even a month ago), the likelihood that it is being used by scammers is extremely high.
• Read reviews on forums or specialized review sites. If there are no such reviews or they are negative, you should refuse the purchase. The abundance of the same type of enthusiastic responses should also alert you - most likely, they are custom-made and do not correspond to reality.
• Really evaluate the store's offer. Liquidation of a branded collection at a 90% discount from the initial cost, sale of confiscated goods, or sale of flagship models of electronic equipment at half price is most likely just a bait from scammers.

Measures against ransomware

Some people who encounter such a crime are ready to give the extortionist everything he wants. However, this method of solving the problem cannot be called correct. Firstly, there are no guarantees that the criminal will not carry out his threats and will not cause harm to the injured party or his loved ones. Secondly, extortion can continue indefinitely, as the attacker realizes that he has found an easy way to get rich.

Consultation with a lawyer.

Therefore, you should adhere to the following sequence of actions:

1. Find a way to delay the transfer of money. Care must be taken not to arouse suspicion among the extortionist.
2. Get advice from a lawyer. A lawyer will help you file a police report regarding this fact and give useful advice.
3. The content of the application is of great importance. It is necessary to set out in detail the circumstances of what happened: where, when and on what grounds the criminal demanded money, what amount was agreed upon, the nature of the threats, and so on.
4. The application is sent to the nearest police department. It must be registered in the appropriate book, and the victim must be given an entry number.
5. After this, the police do not have the right to refuse to consider the application. They are obliged to initiate operational search activities, during which the transfer of money will be organized.
6. Next, the applicant becomes the victim, and the detainee becomes the accused. The police are continuing to investigate the case to clarify all the circumstances.

Internet fraud - how to get your money back

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to recover money lost as a result of fraudulent activities on the Internet. Most often, scammers have minimal computer and legal literacy skills and accept money not to a bank card, but to an account that does not require identification confirmation (for example, to a wallet opened in the Payeer system), which complicates the procedure for finding them.

It will also not be possible to contact the scammer on your own and appeal to his conscience. Usually the telephone numbers indicated in the advertisements do not answer, and the copies of documents and information about the registration address provided are fake.

Contacting law enforcement agencies may give you a slim chance of getting your money back. How to do this is described below.

How to file a police report through the Ministry of Internal Affairs website?

To fill out the fraud form through the official website of the MFD, you need to follow the link:

1) In the window that opens, you will need to select the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

2) Then at the bottom of the page click on the “Continue” button.

3) Next, a page will open with text that you need to read and check the “Acquainted” box. This text provides detailed instructions for filling out the application form, as well as the deadline for its consideration.

4) After checking the box to read the instructions, you will need to click on the “Submit Appeal” button.

5) In the form that opens, you need to fill out all the fields according to the instructions you read and click on the “Send request” button.

6) After sending the completed form, the application is sent to the territorial department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Note : The user is not notified that the application has been forwarded, so the applicant will need to clarify such information on their own. The result of consideration of the applicant's appeal will be communicated to the user within 30 days.

Time limits for considering a police complaint about fraud

An important factor necessary to consider a registered fraud complaint is the reason for the applicant's contact with the police. Typically, such a reason may be any violation of the legislative norms of the Russian Federation. In practice, most often, law enforcement services are faced with administrative offenses. Therefore, depending on the circumstances, the time frame for considering the application and taking action may vary.

For example, any application must be considered within 3 days from the date of its registration. However, one must understand that it is not always possible to objectively assess the situation during this period. After all, to study the application, it will be necessary to interview witnesses and make the right decision. Therefore, the time frame for considering citizens' appeals to the police can be changed upward on legal grounds, in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 144 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If the time frame for considering an application of an injured citizen increases, police officers must notify the applicant about this, indicating the reasons.

Reasons for changing the deadline for consideration of an application may be:

1. The need for additional time to interview witnesses.
2. Waiting for the results of the expert assessment.
3. Insufficient information about the event that occurred.

In some situations, the investigation is delayed for reasons beyond the control of law enforcement agencies. For example, if the results of the examination have not been received, or the person who committed the offense is wanted, then in this option the decision-making and response to the applicant can be delayed for a period of up to 30 days.

After the expiration of the 30-day period, the applicant must provide a response in which they must inform him about the satisfaction of his application or about the refusal to initiate criminal proceedings, indicating the reason for the refusal.

Where to report online fraud

Despite the fact that the media and popular electronic resources constantly publish information about existing methods of deceiving the population, law enforcement agencies daily record hundreds of cases of dishonest actions against consumers of information. Where to turn in case of Internet fraud if you have encountered deception on the Internet?

First of all, the victim must submit a statement to the police department located at his place of residence. A separate division, the “K” department, has the authority to handle complaints regarding Internet fraud.

The application must indicate:

• Full name, passport details, registration address, contact phone number of the applicant;
• description of the situation that occurred: date, time, place where the fraudulent actions were committed, as well as the essence of the actions that led to the deception of the victim;
• date of application and signature of the applicant.

You can submit your application either in person or online. To do this, you need to follow the link https://mvd.ru/request_main and send the document (you can attach additional evidence of fraud to it: screenshots of pages, Internet banking receipts, etc.).

What to do if a fraud case is refused

If you do not agree that a case is not being initiated, you need to appeal the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case. You can do this in two ways:

1. contact the prosecutor's office.
2. go to court.

First you need to get a copy of the refusal decision. By law, the authorized police officer who is investigating your application is required to inform you what decision has been made.

But sometimes the applicant does not receive notification. We will not dwell on the reasons for the lack of information from the victim - in some situations, these are shortcomings in the work of the post office, in others, shortcomings in the work of the police. In one case or another, if the victim has not received any information on his appeal after 13-16 days from the date of filing , he has the right to independently contact the police and demand that he be given a copy of the decision.

In such a situation, you will need the coupon that we mentioned - it indicates the registration number of your application, using it you can quickly find the so-called executor who dealt with your problem. When you apply for a copy of the decision to refuse to initiate or initiate a criminal case, you must be given one.

Having received the decision and not agreeing with the reasons for the refusal, you can write a complaint to the prosecutor’s office, an approximate example is as follows:

Prosecutor of the Leninsky district of Kaluga Ivanov I.I. Nikolaeva P.R., born in 1975, living at the address: Kaluga, st. Derevenskaya, 1, apt. 7. tel. 892600077

COMPLAINT in accordance with Art. 124 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

I ask you to check the legality and validity of the resolution of the local police department No. 1 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Kaluga Melnikova I.I. from 02.11.2016 refusal to initiate criminal proceedings.

So, 10/23/2016. I filed an application to initiate a criminal case against a person who introduced himself to me as A.Yu. Krasnov, who stole 250,000 rubles from me by deception.

In its resolution, the UUP (precinct police commissioner) indicates that insufficient data has been provided that Krasnov A.Yu. there was intent to steal funds through deception. District police officer I.I. Melnikov concluded that there is no corpus delicti, in this case there are civil relations, I was recommended to go to court in a civil manner.

(Note that in cases of fraud, the wording about “the existence of civil legal relations” is the most common in decisions to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings. To prevent refusal on such grounds, it is necessary to provide evidence of deception.)

At the same time, Krasnov A.Yu. initially provided me with false information about the premises being sold and its owner, as well as forged documents (power of attorney), so the grounds that the district police officer gave in his decision do not correspond to reality.

I ask you to cancel this resolution and initiate a criminal case under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Nikolaev P.R., 03.11.2016 Signature.

Attachment: copy of the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case dated November 2, 2016.

Responsibility for forging signatures on documents

Such a statement is in accordance with Art.
124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the prosecutor's office is obliged to consider it within three days (can be extended up to 10 days) , during which the assistant prosecutor will request the so-called “refusal material” from the police and check the legality of the decision made.
If there are grounds, the prosecutor’s decision is canceled, an additional check is carried out, or the case is initiated immediately. The applicant is notified of the decision. It is known from practice that such cancellations of decisions can be repeated, which becomes like red tape, since the time spent on considering a complaint at the prosecutor’s office adds up to 10 days of additional checks by the police.

If such red tape is allowed, you can appeal the actions of officials (both the district prosecutor's office and the police) to the regional prosecutor's office. You can also follow the recommendation to go to court - sometimes this is a more effective way of influencing negligent law enforcement officials.

The application to the court is written as follows:

To the Chairman of the Leninsky District Court of Kaluga V.V. Petrov Nikolaeva P.R., born in 1975, living at the address: Kaluga, st. Derevenskaya, 1, apt. 7. tel. 892600077

COMPLAINT in accordance with Art. 125 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

(Please note that the judicial procedure for considering such complaints is regulated by Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (in the previously given example of filing a complaint with the prosecutor’s office - Article 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).)

I ask that the resolution of the local police department No. 1 of the Kaluga Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs be declared illegal. I.I. Melnikova. from 02.11.2016 refusal to initiate criminal proceedings.

So, 10/23/2016. I filed an application to initiate a criminal case against a person who introduced himself to me as A.Yu. Krasnov, who stole 250,000 rubles from me by deception.

In its resolution, the UUP indicates that there is insufficient data provided that Krasnov A.Yu. there was intent to steal funds through deception. District police officer I.I. Melnikov concluded that there is no corpus delicti, in this case there are civil relations, I was recommended to go to court.

(The refusal to initiate a criminal case on the above grounds is illegal, which entails the cancellation of the decision.)

When considering this complaint, I ask you to request from OP-1 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Kaluga the refusal material regarding the crime report numbered _______.

(Here you will need to indicate the number assigned to your appeal - the so-called KUSP (number in the Crime Reporting Book).)

I also ask you to call district police officer I.I. Melnikov. at the court hearing.

(According to the law, the presence of the officials who made the decision contested by the citizen is desirable, but not mandatory. Thus, if Melnikov, summoned by the UUP, does not appear in court, the consideration of the complaint will be carried out in his absence.)

Nikolaev P.R., 03.11.2016 Signature.

Attachment: copy of the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case dated November 2, 2016.

Such a complaint will be considered by the court within five days from the date of receipt by the judge’s office. Based on the results of the consideration, a decision will be made to recognize the arguments as justified and to cancel the decision to refuse to initiate a case, or a decision to leave the complaint without satisfaction. In the latter case, the applicant is given a 10-day period to appeal the appeal.

Punishment for online fraud

Responsibility for fraud (including fraud on the Internet) is provided for in Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The sanction of this article establishes the following types of punishment:

• a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles;
• a fine in the amount of the salary or other income of the convicted person received by him for a period not exceeding one year;
• compulsory work lasting up to 360 hours;
• correctional labor for up to 1 year;
• restriction of freedom/forced labor for up to 2 years;
• arrest for up to 4 months;
• imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Thus, the punishment for fraud on the Internet is not severe enough, even taking into account the legislator’s differentiated approach to its possible types.

Legal basis

OBEP is the previously existing abbreviation of the institution. Now it has been renamed OEBiPK . It stands for the following: Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption. The structure deals with serious issues in the field of protecting and protecting the economic security of our country. Within the framework of criminal law, the institution deals with issues related to violations related to the crimes specified in Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – fraud.

In addition, the structure deals with issues of administrative violations included in Art. 7.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – petty theft.

The difference between these articles lies only in the social danger, which is expressed in financial terms.
According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation , cases are considered when fraudulent schemes are identified, when the damage to the victims does not exceed 2,500 rubles . If the amount of fraud turns out to be significantly higher, then the punishment will be imposed in accordance with the Criminal Code.

Results

So, fraud on the Internet can be based on the use of special software tools that can withdraw funds from user accounts, or it can consist of a set of psychological techniques aimed at misleading the user, as a result of which he independently transfers funds to the fraudster. It is very difficult to recover money lost as a result of fraudulent activities. This can only be done if the criminals are found by law enforcement agencies and brought to justice.

See also: “Fraud using payment bank cards.”
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Can they refuse?

If the circumstances described in the submitted application are qualified as an administrative offense, the police may refuse to initiate a case. In this case, if the defendant is identified and evidence of guilt is collected, the victim can apply to the court to protect his rights and interests.

Russian legislation does not provide for any restrictions on the number of applications, i.e., you can simultaneously file a complaint with all law enforcement agencies.

Those applications that contain information that does not correspond to reality are also subject to refusal to initiate a criminal case.

Contacting other structures

If the party suspected of fraud is an organization or individual entrepreneur, the victim can write a statement to the court. According to Russian legislation, such claims are not subject to state duty.

In cases where illegal actions were committed via the Internet, you need to contact the “K” Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to protect your rights.

An appeal to the prosecutor's office regarding fraudulent actions will be effective only if the police refused to accept the application or did not carry out the necessary work to establish all the circumstances of the case, or in the case where a supervisory audit of the activities of an organization or individual entrepreneur is necessary. In all other situations, the application addressed to the prosecutor will be forwarded to the police department.

Through State Services

To be able to write an application through the State Services portal, a citizen must be registered on it and have a verified account. The document will be sent on behalf of the user of your personal account. To generate and send an application you must:

• Login to your account.
• Open the “Security and Law and Order” tab in the “Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation” section.
• ABOUT.
• Fill out the form in the window that opens.
• Click the “Submit” button.

The applicant immediately receives confirmation of dispatch and the registration number of the message.