The Internet has become a full-fledged habitat for many people. In his space, they not only find information of interest, download the necessary programs, music or games for entertainment for the weekend, but also make purchases, communicate, work. As in real life, in the virtual world of people at every turn are waiting for attackers who want to enrich themselves at their expense. What is online scam? Where to turn to a deceived person? How to stop flourishing illegal activities? These are topical issues for many users of the World Wide Web.
Internet fraud and its most common types
Any actions in the web space aimed at obtaining money, confidential information and personal data by fraud are regarded as online fraud. Not everyone knows where to turn. Measures are often not taken, and criminals continue to deceive and steal.
The most dangerous type of fraud is phishing. This is the name of the enticement of usernames and passwords to personal accounts in payment systems, numbers and PIN codes for bank cards, theft of personal data.
Some online stores are involved in fraud. They require advance payment from the buyer, and then refuse to send him the goods.
On the Internet, people are faced with malware that blocks operating systems and social media accounts. And to correct the situation, you usually need to send an SMS message to a paid number.
Internet fraud is compassionate spam letters asking to send money, offers of work at home with a preliminary deposit, financial pyramids.
What to do if there is a phishing site activity or online store fraud? Where to go first?
First Aid: Law Enforcement
For the commission of Internet fraud, a criminal punishment corresponding to its severity is provided, therefore, the first thing a person should contact the law enforcement authorities. You can write a statement to the police or prosecutors. But there is a better solution to the problem. Department “K” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is the place where you need to turn about Internet fraud first. He is directly involved in the investigation of offenses in the web space.
Find out the address of department “K” in your region using the Internet, help desk, provider, go there and write a statement or complaint. You can also use the hotline and report a crime by phone. Department K also accepts applications online. Go to the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and issue an appeal. It is necessary to inform law enforcement authorities of all known information about the fraudster, for example, his e-mail, e-wallet number, website URL. While the investigation is ongoing, additional measures can be taken to combat the perpetrator of the online fraud. Where to apply after submitting an application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you ask. There are many options.
Anti-Scam: CERT-GIB, an international cybercrime response center
In addition to Department “K”, the international company Group-IB specializes in combating cybercrime. This organization has a CERT-GIB incident response center, where you can contact for fraud on the Internet around the clock.
The company has its own website. Just go to it and select the CERT-GIB section. There is a phone number to call and report fraud. You can also do this by e-mail, Telegram messenger or by filling out an application. Group-IB specialists quickly respond to calls for help, check and block fraud sites, and also provide valuable advice on collecting evidence and preventing similar incidents in the future; They explain how to deal with the consequences of malicious activity.
The project "Angry Citizen" on the guard of order
Another way of confronting thieves and deceivers is the Russian project “Angry Citizen”. He specializes in solving diverse problems: from problems with hot water at home to stealing money online. In order to use the services of the project, go to its website, select the desired topic and fill out the complaint form.
“Angry Citizen” is a resource where it is simply necessary to contact in case of Internet fraud if you are firmly determined to return the stolen goods. The actions of the project participants are prompt and give excellent results. A confirmation of this are the numerous solved problems of citizens.
Safe Internet League helps catch cybercriminals
If you become a victim of phishing, a site with viruses, or misuse of personal data, the Safe Internet League will help you. The organization has been successfully combating malicious content in the web for several years. In its field, it is respected and poses a serious threat to scammers.
Make an appeal on the official website of the “Safe Internet League”. It may be anonymous, depending on your desire. The appeal contains several required fields, for example, the address of a fraudulent site or one of its pages. Any further information is appreciated. Screenshots, the names of infected objects will help to quickly expose the criminal. After that, try to neutralize the consequences yourself, which was caused by malicious Internet fraud. Where to turn so that the offender could not spend your money and how to calculate it, the most pressing issues after submitting all kinds of applications.
Electronic payment systems - faithful allies of users affected by fraudsters
Help can be provided by payment systems, for example, WebMoney, Yandex.Money or Paypal. With them, gullible citizens transfer money to thieves.
Victims of phishing, spam emails, and unreliable online stores may turn to arbitration, support, or security, depending on the system used. Do not write a complaint about emotions. Your words should be deliberate, and the requirements reasoned. With obvious fraud, the attacker's account will be blocked. In addition, some payment systems have passport data of their customers. If they facilitate the investigation, the identity of the attacker will be established. And this will triple your chances of returning the stolen.
Caution Internet Scam!
Where to go to rid the web space of pests? On phishing sites, resources with malware or spam, you can pay attention to popular search engines such as Google and Yandex. Notify their employees of the criminals. This can be done on the Yandex.Webmaster or Help.Web Search service on Google. Fill out the required forms. If the results of the check show that the resource is fraudulent, search engines will stop indexing it. By your actions you will not only spoil the life of an attacker, but also protect many citizens from the loss of money and nerves.
Last step: domain name registrars and hosting companies
The final stage in the fight against the criminal will be contacting the domain registrar of his site and the hosting company on whose server he is located. These are the organizations where you need to contact about online fraud if you are not afraid of difficulties. After all, you will have to make some efforts to find them.
Go to the specialized resource 1whois.ru. Using the URL of the fraudster’s site, you will receive there all the necessary information. Enter the name of the hosting company and domain registrar in the search engine one by one. This way you will find their sites. They are usually indicated by contact email. Send a complaint to her with a request to close the attacker's site.
All of these methods are effective, and you must resort to them if you have been robbed or cheated. Do not ignore even a slight Internet fraud. Where to go, you now know. Act! All the guilty will be punished, and the stolen returned to its rightful owner.