BY SACHIN KUMAR
DOHA: Growing use of smartphones, tablets and computers in Qatar is exposing the users to the threat of cyber crimes. Cybercime in Qatar mostly consists of phishing, defaming or blackmailing someone, hacking, spreading viruses, and stealing credit card details or other financial information.
“There are many cases of cyber crimes happening in Qatar, including identity theft, taking data. People who use smartphones as well as others have complained about stealing of data and money from their bank accounts. The majority of cases are related to stealing of money from bank accounts, using others’ email and using fake online companies,” said Khalifa Jasim Al Hadad, a Qatari lawyer.
“One of the major problems with this crime is that people do not get to know about it immediately. It takes some time for them to realise that their data or money has been stolen,” he added.
Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as user names, passwords and card details (and, sometimes, indirectly, money) by sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies. Communications purporting to be from popular social networking sites, auction sites, banks, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to induce unsuspecting individuals to reveal personal information. Such emails may also contain links to websites infected with malware.
Hacking is a type of crime wherein a person’s computer is broken into so that his personal or sensitive information can be accessed. In hacking, the criminal uses a variety of software to access a person’s computer and the person may not be aware that his computer is being accessed from a remote location.
Identity theft has become a major problem for people using the Internet for cash transactions and banking services. It involves a criminal accessing data about a person’s bank account, credit cards, debit cards and other sensitive information to siphon off money or buy things online in the victim’s name. It can result in major financial losses for the victim and even spoil the victim’s credit history.
Malicious software is Internet-based software or programs that are used to disrupt a network. The software is used to gain access to a system to steal sensitive information or data or cause damage to the software in the system.
Saeed Madawi Al Qahtani, officer at the centre for combating cyber crimes at the Ministry of Interior, said that cyber crimes was easy and could be committed in a few minutes, because of which it was considered one of the most dangerous types of crime. Also, it is evolving with the development of technology. It is important to raise the awareness of people about cyber crimes. No category of people in Qatar is safe from cyber crimes because they are using phones and computers. The MENA countries are exchanging information and experiences in combating cyber crimes, Al Qahtani said.
One can report scam messages to the cyber crimes investigation centre of the Ministry of Interior by sending an email to cccc@moi.gov.qa or via the ministry’s social networking pages.
The ministry cautions people about hoax and scam messages. In such messages, the criminals ask for personal information or details of bank accounts or ask them to transfer money. Such criminals usually use the names and logos of government departments or big companies to deceive the intended victims.
According to officials, most victims of cyber crimes in Qatar are people aged 40 and above as they are not quite knowledgeable about using electronic gadgets. Younger people know more about modern electronic devices since they have been using them from an early age and are, thus, less vulnerable to cyber criminals.
Experts advise people that they should not send personal information through email and text messages. Also, they should not respond immediately to such mails or meet those who ask by email to meet them.
One should also be careful in creating passwords because they act as keys to one’s electronically stored information. A good password is one that cannot be easily guessed. It should have eight characters or more and use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols (e.g., # $ % ! ?).
One should avoid using any of the following as a password: one’s login name, anything based on personal information such as one’s last name, and words that can be found in the dictionary. One should create especially strong, unique passwords for securing activities like online banking.
One should save the passwords in a secure location and try not to use the same password for every service one uses online. Passwords should be changed on a regular basis, and at least every 90 days. This can limit damage by someone who has gained access to one’s account. If one notices something suspicious in one’s online accounts, one of the first steps one can take is to change one’s password.
According to experts, one should protect one’s computer with security software. Several types of security software are necessary for basic online security. These include firewall and antivirus programs. A firewall is usually the computer’s first line of defence — it controls who and what can communicate with the computer online.
The next line of defence is antivirus software, which monitors all one’s online activity and protects the computer from viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other types of malicious programs.
One should exercise caution when sharing personal information such as one’s name, home address, phone number and email address online, and keep an eye out for phony email messages. The messages may be fraudulent if they contain misspellings, poor grammar, odd phrasing, URLs with strange extensions or ones that consist entirely of numbers, and anything else out of the ordinary.
Additionally, phishing messages often say that one has to act quickly to keep one’s account active, ask one to update one’s security or urge one to provide information immediately, failing which something bad will happen. One should never take the bait.
One should not respond to emails that ask for personal information. Legitimate companies will not use email messages to ask for personal information. When in doubt, one should contact the company by phone or through the company’s website. Clicking on links in these messages may take one to fraudulent, malicious websites.
Also, one should steer clear of fraudulent websites used to steal personal information. When visiting a website, type the URL into the Web browser rather than follow a link in an email or instant message. Fraudsters often forge these links to make them look convincing. A shopping, banking or any other website that requires your sensitive information should begin with https://www and not http://www. The “s” stands for secure and should appear when you are in an area requesting you to log in or provide other sensitive data. Another sign that one has a secure connection is the small lock icon, usually at the bottom right-hand corner of the browser.
One should guard one’s email address. Spammers and phishers sometimes send millions of messages to email addresses that may or may not exist, in the hope of finding a potential victim. Responding to these messages ensures you will be added to their lists for more of the same messages in future. Also, be careful when posting your email address in newsgroups, blogs or online communities.
People should not get attracted by online offers that look too good to be true. Also, users should regularly review bank and credit card statements.
The impact of identity theft and online crimes can be greatly reduced if they can be detected soon after one’s data is stolen or when the first illegal use of one’s information is attempted. One of the easiest ways to know if something has gone wrong is to review the monthly statements provided by one’s bank and credit card companies to detect anything out of the ordinary.
Additionally, many banks and financial service providers use fraud prevention systems that flag unusual purchasing behaviour (For instance, one lives in Qatar and all of a sudden one’s credit card is used to make a purchase in Europe). In order to confirm an out of the ordinary purchase, they might call and ask one to confirm that one is making the purchase. One should not take such calls lightly — they are a hint that something bad may have happened and one should take action.
In 2011, online revenue losses in the world resulting from fraudulent transactions were estimated at $3.4bn, up from $2.7bn in 2010.
THE PENINSULA
