Fraud on the Internet: article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment

Fraud on the Internet, Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is a new type of crime.
With the advent of Internet technologies in our lives, the number of scams and extortion has increased significantly. You can lose your money just by visiting some seemingly harmless site. Fraudsters have learned to deceive us remotely, sometimes in very sophisticated ways. This is a truly serious social problem that requires special attention. What article for online fraud regulates this offense, what are the most famous methods of deception and how is it punished? Multi-channel free hotline Legal advice on criminal law. Every day from 9.00 to 21.00

Moscow and region: +7 (495) 662-44-36

St. Petersburg: +7 (812) 449-43-40

Existing methods of deception on the Internet

Each of us can become a victim of a fraud that attackers organize remotely in order to obtain your money, passwords, credit card details and other personal information. Many of us use the Internet for work, study and entertainment. However, we don’t always think about what sites we visit, and what the consequences of simply visiting a web page where you can supposedly download the movie or essay you need. Scammers take advantage of our carelessness for their own purposes.

Not only an individual, but also an entire company and even a corporation can suffer from deception.

Today there are a lot of ways to deceive people through Internet communications.

Here are some of them:

Using various virus software, scammers find out the details of the victim’s bank card, after which money can be debited from it.
Using the same virus programs, a fraudster can hack into your computer and steal important personal data (for example, personal photos). In the future, the received materials can be used for the purposes of extortion and blackmail.
Another way is to receive funds that supposedly go to charity. This method is perhaps the most harmless, since the victim herself gives the money to the deceiver. However, all information about sick children or animals in need of treatment in such cases is fiction.
Involving people in financial pyramids is another common way of getting money. In such cases, the victim is required to make a so-called down payment, after which the attacker promises the person large earnings. Information about such attractive earnings spreads across the network very quickly. Everyone interested contributes money, attracting their relatives and friends to this system. As a result, no one gets anything except the attacker.
Everyone has probably encountered a situation when a message comes from your friend’s page that he is in trouble and urgently needs money. He sends you a card or account number, where he asks you to transfer a certain amount of money. Many, not seeing the catch, transfer money, because a friend asks, which means he really needs it. Sound familiar? This is how scammers act who, having previously hacked the victim’s page, begin to actively ask for money from all the friends of the page owner.
There are also scammers operating in many online stores. And this is probably familiar to you too. You are looking for a movie or e-book, but you can’t find it in the public domain. You accidentally end up on the page of an online store that offers to purchase the movie or book you want for a small amount on prepayment. The buyer gives money, not realizing that no one will give him access to the book or film. The same thing happens with little-known online stores selling clothes, toys and other goods. There, the scammers ask for advance payment with a promise to send the goods immediately, but the buyer does not receive his goods, and the scammer simply disappears from sight.

As you can see, there are many ways of online fraud in the world. When browsing websites and searching for information, you need to be vigilant and not give your money to just anyone. Don't let scammers deceive you.

FREE BONUS COLLECTORS.

Automatic money collection program. Here it is, a freeloader's dream! Recently on the forum one “lucky” person shared information. I received a letter with a job offer starting at $285 per day. I read a convincing description of the guarantees on the website. I downloaded and launched the program according to the instructions. Then the process of collecting money began.

Raised $175. Next comes the program registration process. To do this you need to pay $41 with E-gold. According to the instructions, you need to get a patch. After payment, insert the received patch into a special field in the program and press the “Register” button. Then the program displays an error - “Connection Faild!” and your money cried.

But in the worst case, the program may also turn out to be malicious: you will lose a large amount of money in your virtual account and, in addition, you will receive viruses!

What to do if you were deceived?

After a person becomes a victim of online fraud, most often he is lost and does not know what to do or where to turn for help.
Usually the victim simply gives up and does nothing to find the culprit and return lost information or money. Since the crime was committed remotely, finding the criminal will not be easy, but you should never give up. Once you discover that you have been scammed, do the following:

contact the police immediately. Law enforcement agencies always have employees who deal with cases related to fraud. Report that you have been deceived, write a statement;
you can file a complaint with the consumer protection service in your region if you encounter fraud related to the purchase of goods and services;
Do everything possible to block the scammer’s e-wallet or bank card. Contact your bank or electronic payment system administrators. Don’t be shy, demand a refund, because they are responsible for their clients;
You can also report the incident to your Internet service provider, who is responsible for harmful content that has not been blocked.

In any case, you need to try, and you will definitely achieve justice.

Please edit

The most honest and harmless of dishonest methods. This is not a scam, just a freebie, begging. If you don't want it, don't give it. A letter comes to you like this:

Hello!

I recently got myself a WM-keeper. As you know, WM-identifiers, if there is a zero balance there after six months, then the WM-keeper is closed. I work with sponsors, but I haven’t reached the minimum wage yet. If they close my keeper, I won’t get my money.

Please send 1 cent (kopeck) to WMZ(R)ХХХХХХХ. Help me out, please. I'm a newbie, it's so difficult for me.

Yes, how little a person needs for inner peace. Sometimes you'll send that cent. Beggars in the subway are given more food. Although WebMoney never closes empty wallets, why bother a person? Thus, he will collect about a dollar, depending on his activity.

I would include billing for 10, 50 cents or a dollar with the basis of financial assistance

This method is quite harmless and does not require special attention...

What evidence do you need to collect?

Once you have realized that you have become a victim of fraud and have decided to contact the police or consumer protection authorities, you should collect all available evidence of the fraud committed, as well as all information you have about the offender.

Such evidence may be:

Receipts, checks and other documents confirming payment for services, purchase of goods, transfer of funds to another bank account or electronic wallet.
Checks and receipts from courier services (if you received a low-quality product after paying a considerable amount of money for it).
Video and audio recordings of all conversations with the attackers, as well as photographs or screenshots related to the case.
Any personal information about the offenders.
All your documents, contracts and more.
Details of cards or electronic wallets of attackers, their telephone numbers.

Collect everything you have and present this information to all authorities to which you will turn for help. Their presence can help speed up the search for scammers.

Problems with payment systemsedit

Hello, dear user. The WebMoney administration, with the deepest regret and tearing out the hair on our heads, is forced to inform you that we are facing difficult times. Unfortunately, we will be forced to block your accounts from April 1, XXXX. The problem can be easily solved by depositing a deposit of 25 (50 or 100) WMZ into the administration account. This amount will be returned to you when the ID is closed. Do not respond to this email to admin(support)@webmoney.ru. This letter was generated by an email robot. For any questions, please contact [email protected](!!!).

Responsibility and types of punishment for Internet fraud

Any fraud, including using the Internet, is regulated by Part 6 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Internet fraud includes the following:

stealing other people's information;
theft of the right to own someone else's information or someone else's property;
destruction of other people's information;
malfunction of the device on which information is stored.

This crime can be committed by one person or by a group of people. Moreover, depending on their goals (hooliganism, selfish goals, personal motives), the punishment will vary:

Fine (120–300 thousand rubles).
Correctional or forced labor (1 year).
Imprisonment or restriction of freedom (2–4 years).

As with any criminal offense, liability for Internet fraud begins at the age of 16. If a person has not reached this age, the parents or guardians of the culprit bear full responsibility for his actions.

However, in such cases, the legislation includes not only Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Internet fraud. There are a number of articles in the Criminal Code within which a case of online deception can be considered. Next, you will learn about what these articles are and what punishment is provided for committing this act.

Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Extortion

In some cases, deception is accompanied by acts of extortion of personal information or money from individuals, as well as blackmail and threats to destroy information or personal property.
Here, Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation comes into force for deception on the Internet, in which a person is blackmailed, including through the use of violence. An attacker in such a situation is entitled to the following preventive measures:

imprisonment (4–7 years);
penalties (80–500 thousand rubles).

The size of the fine and prison term depend on factors such as the number of people who committed extortion, whether violence was used against the victim, and how large a sum of money was obtained as a result of such acts.

Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal access to computer information)

This article applies to those whose activities involve hacking Internet sites and electronic databases. Most often, Trojan viruses are used for this, with the help of which an attacker steals personal data (passwords, PIN codes, etc.).

If a swindler gained access to particularly important and state-protected information illegally, he will be punished in the form of:

Fine (200 thousand rubles).
Correctional labor (1–2 years).
Arrest (6 months–2 years).

If the act was committed with direct intent and personal interest, the more severe of the listed penalties is applied.

If the fraud was committed by a group of people or by a person who used his official position to commit illegal actions, they will face the following penalties:

fine (500 thousand rubles);
ban on holding a position;
imprisonment (5 years).

All of the above cases relate to gaining access to state and secret information, as a result of which it could be destroyed, copied and used in the future for personal gain.

Article 273 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (creation, use and distribution of malicious computer programs)

In order to further extort or obtain personal information from citizens, scammers create and distribute a number of malicious programs online. You can completely accidentally install such a program on your computer after visiting a virus site. They are also capable of blocking and destroying your personal data, including stealing your passwords and PIN codes for bank cards.

Such an offense is punishable:

Imprisonment (4 years);
Forced labor (4 years);
Fine (200 thousand rubles).

If such actions lead to serious consequences, the punishment can be quite severe - up to seven years in prison.

Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the rules for operating means of storing, processing or transmitting computer information and information and telecommunication networks)

Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation applies to those who organize hacker attacks on websites with the aim of damaging or stealing data. Sometimes the damage from damage to means for storing and processing particularly important information is quite significant.

Such a crime is punishable:

a fine (500 thousand rubles);
correctional labor (1 year);
arrest and imprisonment (2 years).

If the consequences of this crime are really serious, the culprit may be imprisoned for five years.

How to understand that you have become a victim of fraud. Where to contact

As a rule, scammers are difficult to recognize. Along with legal and conscientious online stores, there are also those where, in simple terms, “brazen scams” are carried out. Unfortunately, even the presence of a lot of positive reviews about a store, a marriage agency and employment firm, and various online schools now means nothing. Reviews are very easy to fake in order to lure new gullible victims. It is worth doubting the integrity if, for example, the site has existed for less than a month, and at the same time it is simply inundated with positive reviews.

You should always be wary if you are categorically required to make an advance payment, pay some duty, fee, etc. not provided for by law. When communicating with banks, you need to remember that a real credit institution already has all your personal information that you indicated in the questionnaire when drawing up the agreement.

A sign of a fraudulent scheme may be excessive haste, when you are asked to make a payment or provide card details urgently, otherwise the transaction will not take place. Also, a sure sign that fraud has been committed against you is the sudden disappearance of the site or person to whom you transferred money. If you cannot contact your counterparty either by phone or via Internet messages, this is a sign that it is time to seek help from law enforcement agencies.

Attention! Where to go if you become a victim of internet fraud? Cases related to Internet fraud are being conducted by the police. Moreover, it is precisely for the investigation and prevention of violations in cyberspace that the so-called “K” Directorate has been created, whose employees have the appropriate technical knowledge. . The fastest way is a message through the online reception of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

In this case, you must provide all your personal information and, if possible, send screenshots of correspondence with the criminal. Having such evidence will greatly facilitate the work of the police and help you get your money back.

The fastest way is to message through the online reception of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this case, you must provide all your personal information and, if possible, send screenshots of correspondence with the criminal. Having such evidence will greatly facilitate the work of the police and help you get your money back.

It is also possible to apply in the traditional way - to the police department at your location.

Supervision in the field of information technology, including combating crime in cyberspace, is entrusted to Roskomnadzor. You can also bring information about sites that have been taken over by scammers to the attention of this organization.

Arbitrage practice

Many of us have encountered online deception at least once in our lives. Some even ended up losing money or data. As a rule, the sums of money that attackers receive from citizens are not too large.

But there are truly egregious cases where the stolen amounts were truly impressive.

In 2007, Russian hackers obtained more than one billion dollars from clients of a Swiss bank. Allegedly, on behalf of the bank, they sent an email campaign containing a malicious program. Bank customers ran it and thus provided fraudsters with the opportunity to withdraw money from their bank accounts. An accidental mistake made by hackers allowed their illegal activities to be detected and stopped. By mistake, the criminals sent a malicious link to ordinary people, after which one of them filed a complaint with the bank's real support service. As a result, it turned out that the bank itself had nothing to do with this mailing.
In 2010, a group of hackers managed to obtain $37 million from the accounts of clients of a US bank. Using malware, the attackers penetrated the bank's payment system, after which they received funds directly from clients. As a result of this incident, 6 people were detained.
In 2007, Estonia experienced one of the largest cyberattacks in history. A group of fraudsters carried out a hacker attack on the websites of many government agencies and bodies, media portals and banking systems. As a result, the functioning of many of the country's banks and news portals was suspended for several weeks.
In 1998, a fifteen-year-old computer genius was able to hack the electronic system of the school where he was studying, and then he managed to obtain information from the US Department of Defense. Later, he was even able to obtain NASA data intended to control the ISS. The cost of this software was more than one and a half million dollars. The young offender was quickly identified after this incident. However, being a minor, he managed to avoid a prison sentence.

Hacker attacks can lead not only to the theft of funds and property, but also to more serious consequences, such as the suspension of the functioning of important government and international structures, as well as the loss of important, protected information. Therefore, this offense is especially dangerous in the age of information technology.

In the published article you learned what the article for fraud on the Internet is in Russia. Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for fraud on the Internet is far from the only one in this case. Article 163, as well as 272, 273 and 274 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for deception on the Internet can also be applied. The choice of one or another criminal article depends on the scale of the consequences and the type of fraud. You also learned about how to protect yourself from being deceived on the Internet, what you need to do if you find yourself in such a situation, and what evidence you need to collect in order to find the perpetrators of the crime as soon as possible.

Opening electronic projectsedit

Another way is to open virtual “Horns and Hooves”. For example, opening an online store selling, for example, books or CDs. You transfer funds to them, but you don’t receive the goods. So you shouldn’t buy from just anyone, first ask those who have already dealt with a similar store.

However, such projects are an obvious scam. Therefore, their organizers can have a lot of problems on their own. Therefore, the majority acts more sophisticatedly, with improvisation, so to speak.

For example, opening a “sponsor” with a certain minimum wage. The minimum amount for withdrawal has not been reached, and the user will not receive money. No violations - the client agreed to the rules upon registration! In addition, a participant can be accused of cheating, spamming and other violations. It is almost impossible to prove this.

You can’t earn much from sponsors (although there are unique exceptions). Therefore, a store or hosting can organize an affiliate program. Such projects provide their services and do not deceive customers. However, with the affiliate program you can cheat. And I received free advertising. Proving fraud in such cases is also extremely difficult.

Some projects were not initially intended to be fraudulent, but they did not take into account the conditions of the electronic market and were closed. Together with your affiliate program, of course.

Source - . Published by the author himself.

This category also includes the creation of so-called “fake (unreal)” sites. Their essence is to create a copy of a real-life site. This is done so that the user does not distinguish a fake from the original and indicates his email and password when registering. In this case, all data will not end up in the site’s database, but in the hands of scammers. To avoid this situation, you need to periodically check the address bar and the number of visits. If the site was created not so long ago, then it will have few visits.