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Tyler High

Professor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104 Sec. 004

December 2, 2017

Online Scamming: Unfair, Acceptable, Not a Big Deal?

The internet is the most common use for communication in todays world. Business,

schools and public places have the internet available to use for various reasons. People get on the

internet for work related material, to play games, and to communicate. When on the internet

unnecessary advertisements show up. These advertisements can seem fun, but can be harmful to

certain age groups. Its not safe to put your personal information online and have children

unmonitored online. Unwanted people are always behind screen monitors waiting to attack their

next victim. That's why internet is dangerous in many ways. We as humans of the 21st century

need to work together to prevent online scams from happening and the time is now.

Background History

In the mid-1980's, PC related crimes showed up in the United States. PC related crimes

have now brought forth into Internet crimes, and have raised issues with respect to Internet

security. Basically, the Internet has turned into a play area for criminal mischief. Fundamentally,

21st-century technology and Internet openness are giving fields to culprits to utilize

old-fashioned procedures to exploit customers. Lately, Internet crime rates have soared upward.

The FTC detailed that over the past two years, Internet-related-shopping complaints have rose
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from being 10% of all consumer complaints to 30% of purchaser objections. A year ago, 75% of

online traders were worried about online fraud and e-crime. This year, over 83% of online

shoppers are fearful that online extortion and e-crime could influence them. It is anticipated that

this year alone, online credit card fraud will increment by 24%.

Brief History of the 419 Scam

Over 100 years ago, a new hoax popped up in the world. Now known as the Spanish

Prisoner Letter, this started with paper letters being mailed and received by the victim. The

scam was an advanced fee fraudulent scam, where businessmen were contacted via a letter

regarding a proposal. Someone connected to a wealthy family in Spain was in prison, and in

exchange for a small fee to help export them out, the money would be divided evenly in

exchange. The fee was paidthere was no Spanish Prisoner and no money was received.

Similar scams came about as early as the 18th or early 19th century in Europe.

We now fast-forward to the 1980s. For whatever reasons, during the extremely corrupt

Second Republic in Nigeria under then President Shehu Shagari, variations of these letters

were beginning to be sent from Nigeria. There were many different types of the scam from the

beginning to the end. Letters noting about the health of someone and apologizing for the long

silence; what should we do with the profits from this huge investment of millions? Also the first

circumstances of the Nigerian Prince or Royal Family member requesting help to transfer a large

sum of money out of the country in exchange for a percentage. Then along came the internet

browser.

With email rapidly cutting costs of sending actual scam letters, a groundbreaking amount

of advanced fee fraudulent scams started showing up in emails. Though this was and still is a

worldwide issue with internet fraudulent activity originating from all over the world. Nigeria
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earned a reputation as the chief leader for these scam emails due to the number that were

associated with Nigeria. Advanced fee fraudulent scams is commonly referred to now as 419

Fraud, 419 being the governmental talk of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

Many of these email scams as of ten years ago seem completely absurd. The wealthy

Nigerian Prince that needs your help to get their fortune out of the country for example.

However, the downright silly nature of some of these email scams could have been a motive.

Cormac Herley, a Microsoft researcher, observed: By sending an email that repels all but the

most gullible, the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select. The more improbable

these stories were, the more confident the scammers would be that a person replying was a

gullible enough candidate to fall as a victim to this scam.

In the world we live in today, the Nigerian Prince scam is all but extinct. Numerous types

of more complicated internet fraudulent activity exist; via emails or online shopping. Scammers

have learned to evolve and update their mischievous ways. The scammers arent all from

Nigeria, and they never were, but theyre still out there and still making a lot of money through

online scams.

Victims of Online Fraud and E-Crime Losses

Apparently, merchants are very aware of online scams because when they are, the

victimswell they sustain gigantic losses. Internet transactions made with a credit card are

considered as card-not-present transactions. Therefore, merchants have no corrections against

credit card fraud. Essentially, merchants are responsible for the monetary damages of online

fraud because only credit card numbers are needed for an online transaction and a cardholders

signature is not needed. Also, credit card companies require the merchant to pay $25 to $100 in
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charge-back fees. Although the monetary costs to merchants are valuable, most merchants say

money is not their primary concern. Merchants are more fearful that when a customer finds out a

merchant has been a victim of online fraud, the merchant will lose customer satisfaction. The

loss of customer satisfaction will be in the form of less site overcrowding. The merchants who

are victims of online fraud or e-crime feel their sites will lose congestion because customers who

hear of the crime may become worried about the security of the hacked sites.

The South African Ugly Truth

Whether South Africans know it or not, e-crime is on the incline. According to the 2013

Norton Report, South Africa has the third highest number of e-crime victims across the world.

The report also revealed that approximately 12 people fall victim to e-crimes every second, there

are one million victims daily and 378 million cases of e-crime per year, costing countries billions

and billions of dollars.

Scammers around the world have stepped up their game and do not even have to leave

the comfort of their homes to get to you from across the world. More and more criminals are

abusing the speed, convenience and obscurity of the Internet to commit a diverse range of

e-crime that know no borders, either physical or virtual, and cause serious stress to victims

worldwide.

Once hackers have access to your online accounts they can take money from your bank

accounts, post inappropriate pictures on your social media, and even change your passwords and

shut you out of your own accounts. Hackers can also access your computer by sending you an
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email that automatically causes malware software to download as you open the mail. The hacker

then has full access to your computer and the information in it and can lock you out.

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), a non-profit

organization focusing on industry efforts to combat bank-related e-crimes, encourages people to

immediately delete suspicious emails from unreliable and unknown sources without opening the

email itself.

The Top Ten Dot Cons

There are ten dot cons that are popular on the net today. Auction fraud is the most

common type of online scam. Because the popularity of online auction sites has really popped

off, they are particularly susceptible to fraud. In 1997, there were 100 reported cases of online

auction fraud. In 1999, there were 10,000. The average victim of online auction fraud loses about

$300 U.S. dollars. The most common type of auction fraud happens when a bidder pays for an

item, but never receives the item.

The Number 2 con is Internet service provider scams. In this scam, a company will sign

customers up for Internet access and then put false charges on the customer's monthly phone bill.

Usually, these scammers make it nearly impossible to cancel future monthly charges and receive

refunds.

The Number 3 con is Web site design scams. This type of scam is similar to the ISP

scam. It is based on fraudulent billing. Scammers will call businesses and offer free web pages.

When the business agrees to sign up, the scammers start to charge unreasonable fees.
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The Number 4 con is Net porn credit card fraud. Basically, an adult site will ask for a

persons credit card number to supposedly verify that he or she is of age. After obtaining the

credit card number, the scammers start piling up bills on the credit card.

The Number 5 con is the multi-level marketing scam. This scam exploits the American

dream to get rich fast. The scam promises that people will make money through selling products

or services, through products sold by people they recruit to join the program. However, the

people who purchase the products for resale never obtain them.

The Number 6 and Number 7 cons are very similar. Basically, Number 6 offers people

the opportunity to invest in a business while Number 7 advertises the opportunity to make money

at home. Usually, the make money at home programs need an initial fee to begin the working

process. The investors and people who want to make money from home send an initial

investment or required fee, but never obtain anything in return.

The Number 8 con is travel and vacation fraud. Companies offer luxurious trips at

exquisite prices, then fail to deliver any travel services or low quality travel accommodations.

Some companies add charges after a customer has paid for the vacation.

The Number 9 con is the telephone billing scam. A scammer will offer free access to a

porn site if a viewer or dialer is downloaded. Once the dialer or viewer is downloaded, it

disconnects a customers modem from the Internet and connects back through an international

long-distance number. This results in outrageous long-distance fees and payments.

The Number 10 con is the Net health care scam. Sellers will convince consumers of

miracle cures for serious and terminal illnesses. The cures are supposedly proven to
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eradicate the illnesses. However, the cures are usually ineffective. Sometimes, customers receive

nothing in return for their payment.

Online Dating Scams

Around 7.8 million UK adults used online dating sites in 2016, up from just 100,000 in

200,000. But just as dating app users are growing rapidly, so is the number of people becoming

victims of online dating scams. A new report by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has

found that last year, singles were tricked out of 39 million euros by scammers theyd met on

dating sites and apps. Scam artists are increasingly creating fake online profiles and tricking

people on dating sites into giving them large sums of money in order to help them with a favor.

One of the most common techniques is to build up trust with the person by messaging for

a couple weeks or even months before suddenly having a health emergency thats urgent. The

fake person being mugged but their daughter needing immediate surgery, for example and asking

for money. But then they suddenly need money for rent too, then food, then medical fees, and it

can quickly escalate. This is a quick red flag, that you are at risk of getting scammed.

A lot of the online dating fraudsters we know are abroad. They're in West Africa,

Eastern Europe and it's very difficult for British law enforcement to take action against them in

those jurisdictions, Steve Profitt, Deputy Head of Action Fraud states.

And most of the time, youre not just talking to one person behind each profile. You

could be sending messages with a circle of scammers working together. Serious scammers

sometimes even create further fake profiles and use them to cyberbully to you, all to make the

main fake profile seem more real.

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Past Efforts to Get a Handle E-Crime

In 1986 when PC crimes were becoming popular, the United States Congress passed the

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The act outlaws certain cyberspace activities like espionage,

information violations, invasion of government computers, fraud, hacking/viruses, password

trafficking, and extortion. Penalties for these crimes can range as high as 10 years in prison for

first offenses, and as high as 20 years for repeat criminals. Also, fines are often charged for first

time violations.

However, the act has flaws. Apparently, it mandates that a cyber crook cannot be pursued

unless he or she has caused at least $5,000 worth of vandalism. Also, the act does not allow law

enforcement officials to have jurisdiction over district and state lines. In order to catch a cyber

crook a trace must be put into order. This trace usually is routed through a number of service

providers in many states. Therefore, the act inadvertently allows cyber crooks to escape law

enforcement officials.

Recently, the Senate has reacted to increased rates in e-crime and has sought out to pass

bills to amend the act. Senate Bill 2092 would allow law enforcement officials to have

nationwide jurisdiction to track down cyber crooks. Senate Bill 2448 seeks to broaden the

definition of damages so the $5,000 limit can be reached more easily. The new definition of

damages would include the cost of responding to an offense, the cost of a damage assessment,

lost revenue, and consequential damages.

International efforts to control e-crime are underway as well. The Group of 8 leading

industrial nations agreed to work as a whole to combat international cybercrime. Their goal is to

create common law enforcement standards.

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A treaty drafted by the Council of Europe has been considered, that would allow law

enforcement to monitor Internet communications. Also, the treaty would outlaw the possession

of hacking software and require ISPs to preserve detailed logs of network activity. This

international collaboration is hopeful to create a climate where e-commerce can be conducted

with confidence and safety. However, the treaty has not yet been approved because it has raised

free speech and privacy concerns.

In early November, the British government announced it would spend $35.79 million on

a package to help local police combat hackers and pedophiles who use the Internet. Almost

every developed nation with Internet access has recently proved to be all in to combat e-crime.

We know this because of how many victims are getting money stolen from them per day. Its a

hard process to grasp, but with the right help, the outcome is already determined and well

accomplished.

Conclusion

Overall, e-crime is real and dangerous. Everyone needs to watch out for it because it

happens to everybody; and getting scammed can be costly. Thus, be careful, follow this advice;

and always keep your eyes and ears open to anything that even remotely sounds off because it

may very well be scammers looking for their next victim.

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Works Cited

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Avoid Them. Readers digest. Rd.com. 7 May 2017. Accessed 6 November 2017.

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HuffPost. Huffingtonpost.com. 20 July 2017, 1:10PM. Updated 27 July 2017. Accessed 6,

November 2017.

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Jones. Motherjones.com. 20 March 2014, 10:00AM. Accessed 6, November 2017.

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November 2017.

Goldman, David. Low-tech Internet scams harvest billions of dollars. CNN News.

Money.cnn.com. 26 July 2011, 7:44AM. Accessed 6 November 2017.

James, Randy. A Brief History of Cybercrime. TIME. Content.time.com. 1 June 2009.

Accessed 6 November 2017.

Kristof, Kathy. 6 red flags for online dating scams. CBS News. Cbsnews.com. 20 October 214,

5:30AM. Accessed 6 November 2017.

Sullivan, Bob. Online job listing an ID theft scam. NBC News. Nbcnews.com. 4 November

2002. Accessed 6 November 2017.

Sullivan, Bob. The Internets most successful scams. NBC News. Nbcnews.com. 21 March

2010, 9:00AM. Accessed 6 November 2017.