Phishing scams are quite prevalent, especially now that mobile phones have such easy access to the internet. Phishing is a scam in which a victim is duped using emails, texts, or even phone calls. The victim’s personal information, including names, passwords, and credit card numbers, are frequently stolen throughout the fraud. It might potentially result in the victim’s device getting infected with malware or a virus.
Phishing: This is the practice of contacting someone, usually by email, while appearing as a trustworthy organization in order to trick them into disclosing sensitive information including passwords, banking, and credit card information, and personally identifiable information. Vishing, another name for voice phishing, is a catchy term for fraudulent phone calls that are made to people in an effort to coerce them into parting with cash or personal information. With a more advanced phrase, it is more akin to a phone scam.
When consumers are solicited fraudulently is know as phishing, whereas Vishing is calling a victim and attempting to entice sensitive information under a reasonable pretence. Phishing is a known concern. One popular variation of it is known as the “support scam,” in which con artists contact a victim while posing as a member of an application or service’s technical support team. Another is when a victim receives a “call from a bank anti-fraud team” and is informed of a “suspicious transaction” and asks for their information to halt or reverse it. Seasonal frauds involving tax returns and filings exist. A recent uptick in “eCommerce return” scams occurs when a victim receives an email that appears to be a genuine purchase confirmation from an online store. The user is advised to call the customer support phone number listed in the email if they did not place the order, according to Muhammad Khaled, senior solution engineer for the Middle East at Acronis.
Laws to Prevent Cybercrimes
The UAE has taken steps to prevent cybercrimes by adopting laws, regulations, and recommendations because it views cyber safety and digital security as critical issues. The important one is the passing of a new cybercrime statute. To combat cybercrimes, false information, and rumours, the Federal Decree-Law Number 34 of 2021 (Cybercrime Law) was published. The Cybercrime Law penalizes, among other things, posting illicit content, forging electronic papers, stealing personal or financial data, and hacking.
What sanctions apply to internet fraud in the United Arab Emirates?
Different forms of online fraud are subject to penalties outlined in the Cybercrime Law. The following is a list of some of the important ones.
Fabrication
According to Article 11/1 of the Cybercrime Law, someone who creates a fake website or email account and incorrectly attributes the name to a natural or legal person faces punishment. The penalty may include incarceration and/or fines of at least 50,000 AED but no more than 200 000 AED. A sentence of at least 2 years in jail may be imposed under Article 11/2 if the offender abuses the victim by using the falsified website, email, or account, or by permitting another person to do so.
Internet fraud
A person would be responsible for cyber fraud under Article 40 if they used fraudulent methods, a false name, or assumed another person’s identity online to obtain anything of value, movable property, a document, or their signature on a document. He will get a minimum one-year sentence in prison and a fine of up to AED 1 million, or both of these penalties.
Data Breach, Personal or Governmental
Anyone caught utilizing technology in an unlawful way to collect, modify, disclose, cancel, or publish any electronic personal data or information faces a minimum 6-month sentence in jail and/or fines of up to AED 100,000. It should be mentioned that if the personal data or information is related to banks and e-payment methods, or if it pertains to health records (such medical exams, diagnosis, and treatment care), this would be regarded as worsening the situation.
Additionally, the penalties are substantially harsher if the data or material is secret government information. Confidential government data acquisition, alteration, disclosure, deletion, copying, or leaking is penalized by a minimum 7-year sentence and a maximum 15-year sentence. Additional penalties of AED 500,000 to AED 3,000,000 can be due.
Breach of Electronic Payment Methods
A person will face imprisonment or /and fines of up to AED 2 million if they fabricate, counterfeit, or copy a credit card or any other e-payment method, or obtain the data of these methods through information technology.
Methods for reporting online fraud
For additional necessary action, cybercrime should be reported to the closest police station and seek legal aid from well-known TMT lawyers. Additionally, the governments of some emirates have developed websites and applications where one may file a complaint regarding cybercrimes.
The federal public prosecution of the UAE has also introduced an application called “My Safe Society” where members of the public can report online crimes or any questionable activity on social networking sites that could impair national security, public order, or both.
Conclusion
With the public availability of more internet services comes an increase in cybercrimes, so it is crucial for users to exercise extreme caution when entering personal information or data, such as bank account information, passport information, credit card information, and login credentials, on the information network.
