Cyber crime is a serious threat in the digital age and all
individuals regularly using the web must be aware of its potential for causing
destruction. Cyber crimes could range from online extortion to identity thefts
to business scams and is known to cause internet users losses to tune of
millions of dollars on a yearly basis. One of the major problems with cyber crime
is that people fail to report a scam to the authorities.
Most often the reason boils down to embarrassment where victims do not want to admit to others that they were swindled out of their money by some random online big scammer. The other reason people fail to report an online scam is usually because they think the damage is already done and it would now be useless to expect any form of justice. But there is nothing random about cyber crime since the number of cases increases exponentially every year and the crimes too are becoming more serious in nature.
Most often the reason boils down to embarrassment where victims do not want to admit to others that they were swindled out of their money by some random online big scammer. The other reason people fail to report an online scam is usually because they think the damage is already done and it would now be useless to expect any form of justice. But there is nothing random about cyber crime since the number of cases increases exponentially every year and the crimes too are becoming more serious in nature.
To investigate these crimes, the EU set up the European
Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in 2013. The agency was set up to help citizens,
companies and governments deal with cybercrime and to provide adequate
protection. The agency has over the last two years enjoyed a good track record
at bringing down a number of cyber criminals who were known for orchestrating
elaborate internet based scams. A lot of this success boils down to the fact
that victims made the effort to report a scam whenever it occurred. Here are
some quick tips to help you deal with the situation better.
Credit Card Related Scams
If you feel that your credit card details have been stolen
and that someone is making a lot of purchases in your name, you should first
make sure to check your bank statement. This will give you a clear indication
as to whether you have had expenses that were unauthorized by you. If you do
find irregularities, immediately get in touch with your bank to report a scam.
They will cancel your credit card to prevent the fraudster from taking any
further advantage of your finances. You will then be issued a new one.
In the meanwhile also make it a point to report a scam to
the local police station in your neighbourhood. In big cybercrimes related
cases, the police work with a number of government agencies to nab notorious
criminals hiding behind computers.
In addition to the cybercrime division set up by the EU,
each country also has an individual agency which was set up with the sole
intention of fighting cyber crime. It would make sense to report a scam to your
own country’s cyber division as soon as you are targeted.
