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Bengaluru Man Arrested for Exploiting Woman in Online Interview

 



Panaji: In a disturbing cybercrime case, the Goa Cyber Crime Police arrested a Bengaluru resident, Mohan Raj V, for allegedly cyberbullying and extorting a woman from Goa. The arrest was made on Saturday after a strategic operation by the police team.

The case began when the victim, a woman from Goa, filed a complaint with the cyber crime police. She reported that the accused had posted a fake job advertisement for a position at a foreign bank. Responding to the advertisement, the woman was contacted via a chatting app by the accused, who arranged an online interview. During the video call, individuals posing as company representatives coerced the woman into undressing. They recorded the video and took screenshots, which were later used to blackmail her.

According to the complaint, the accused demanded sexual favours in exchange for deleting the compromising material. Over the past two months, he persistently harassed the woman, threatening to make the videos and pictures public if she did not comply. He also demanded that she meet him in Bengaluru.

Following the complaint, the police, led by Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta, devised a plan to apprehend the accused. A team, including the victim, travelled to Bengaluru and laid a trap. After extensive efforts and a lengthy chase, the accused was caught when he arrived to meet the victim. The police recovered the chats and videos from the accused's phone, which will be sent for a cyber forensic examination.

The investigation revealed that Mohan Raj V used VPN phone numbers to create fake Telegram accounts and post fraudulent job offers. He targeted women by promising high salary packages and conducting fake online interviews.

The accused has confessed to his crimes and has been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including section 354A (sexual harassment), section 384 (extortion), and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act. The case is being further investigated by Police Inspector Deepak Pednekar.

SP Rahul Gupta urged the public to verify the authenticity of online job offers through local or cyber police stations before engaging with them. He also cautioned against complying with unethical online demands, no matter the promised benefits.

This case highlights the growing menace of cybercrime and the importance of vigilance in online interactions. The Goa Cyber Crime Police's successful operation furthers the cause for robust cyber security measures and public awareness to prevent such incidents.



Child Identity Fraud Costs Nearly $1 Billion per Year

 

On November 2, Javelin Strategy & Research published a new study that stated the yearly cost of child identity theft and fraud in the United States is estimated to be approximately $1 billion. 

Tracy Kitten, director of fraud & security at Javelin Strategy & Research, published the 2021 Child Identity Fraud research, which examined the variables that put children at the most risk of identity theft and fraud. The research examined habits, characteristics, and social media platforms as risk factors. 

Children who use Twitch (31%), Twitter (30%), and Facebook (25%), as per the survey, are most prone to have their personal information compromised in a data breach. Another significant result was that in the previous year, more than 1.25 million children in the United States were victims of identity theft and fraud. On average, the family spent more than $1,100 to resolve the matter, and it took a long time. 

Surprisingly, the survey indicated that over half of all child identity theft and fraud instances include children aged nine and under, with the majority of victims (70 percent) knowing their attackers.

Kitten added, “One of the most eye-opening findings from our research was just how much risk children are exposed to when they are not supervised online. Add to that nearly 90% of the households with internet access say they have children on social media, and the picture our findings paint quickly becomes dark, grim, and scary.” 

Criminals utilised social media to gain access to vulnerable minors, according to Kitten, a journalist and cybersecurity subject specialist. 

“Predators and cybercriminals lurk in the wings of all social media platforms, waiting for the moment to prey on overly trusting minors who may not fully understand safe online behaviour.” 

Families should limit and supervise children' usage of social media and messaging platforms, and be on the watch for cyber-bullying, according to Javelin. 

“Platforms that allow users to direct/private message (DM), friend, or follow other users via public search pose the greatest concern,” stated a company spokesperson. 

Parents were advised not to reveal their children's personal information on social media and to set a good example for their children by demonstrating safe online conduct.

Experts discussed how to fight cyberbullying on children at Cyber Polygon 2021

At the international online cybersecurity training Cyber Polygon 2021, organized by BI.ZONE, Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank, and Henrietta Faure, Executive Director of UNICEF, discussed the important issue "Cyberbullying and more: how to protect children from the threats of the digital world?"

Stanislav Kuznetsov cited UN statistics, according to which more than 70% of children in the world are Internet users (this is 30% of all Internet users of the planet). 95% of teenagers have smartphones, and 45% are online most of the time. While the Internet offers huge educational opportunities for children, the World Wide Web is a dangerous place full of cyberbullying, social engineering, violence and phishing. And children are the most vulnerable to digital threats because they trust each other more, and it is more difficult for them than for adults to distinguish good from evil.

Henrietta Faure agreed that cyberbullying is a very big risk. She thinks authorities should control it because they have laws and a justice system. They can restrict illegal activities on the Internet.

Moreover, she considers it very important to always be in touch with your children and to know what is going on.

"You need to hear and listen to your children. Take your time: ask them what they are doing online. Often parents think that children will always come to them for advice, but this does not always happen. That's why we need to tell our kids that they need to let us know all these things. If the criminals successfully attacked one victim, they will attack millions of others. And if one teenager knows which service to contact in case of a problem, he will tell his friend," said Henrietta Faure.

"Children are our future, and it is obvious that we need to expand international cooperation to protect them," concluded Mr. Kuznetsov.

Henrietta Faure agreed that UNICEF's cooperation with large companies and ecosystems, such as Sberbank, can be very fruitful.


Russia accused of making harassing phone calls to families of NATO soldiers


NATO soldiers stationed in the Baltic States regularly complain that they and their families are victims of unknown Internet trolls and receive frightening anonymous calls. The last such incident occurred with Danish soldiers in late October. The command is confident that Russia is behind the attacks. NATO is preparing to allocate additional millions of euros for the information war.

NATO International Battalion based in Estonia is led by the UK. The soldiers say that since 2017 when they were transferred to the Baltic States they received unpleasant messages from unknown persons via Facebook and Twitter, as well as on personal phone numbers.

The command of NATO believes that it is the Russian bots that troll the soldiers. At the same time, the leadership of the Alliance fears that Russian agents are armed with special devices with portable antennas that allow hacking mobile phones of military personnel to access the information contained in them.

American officers believe that while they were in Estonia, someone was tracking their geo-location on their smartphones. In turn, pilots from the Netherlands complained that during their work in the Baltic States, their wives and girlfriends received anonymous calls with provocative questions, for example, "Do you know what your husband is doing here?" or "Maybe he should leave?". Americans tend to blame the Russian special services for such intrigues. The Dutch also have no doubt that it was the Russians.

In Holland, the harassment case is being considered with "great seriousness," says Colonel Jens Hvid Lenborg.

"The case is serious, as it concerns families, and, in addition, because the callers generally know whose families they are," the military said.
Danish Minister of Defense Trine Brahmsen called it "a cynical violation of all agreements to protect civilians, women and children."

According to Russia expert Flemming Splidsboel Hansen, collecting information about soldiers and their families is part of modern war, for which any defense should be prepared.
Recall that since 2014, NATO stated that it considers Russia its strategic enemy. After that, the North Atlantic Alliance announced an increase in its military presence near the Western borders of Russia.

UK : Social Media Executives To Be Held Accountable For Destructive Content!



Reports have it, that according to a recent proposal of the UK authorities, social media executives shall be personally blamable for the harmful content on their platforms.
The freshly published paper in which the details were mentioned is just a tactic to restrict the spread of violent and detrimental content related to suicides and cyber bullying.
Disinformation, is another theme eluded upon along with the rising need for companies to hold their ground against terroristic, child abusive, and sexually abusive content.
The regulations and guidelines in the aforementioned paper also mention the requirement for every individual regulator to impose the rules.
Its’s high time, the online companies took responsibility for what content their platforms displayed, in an attempt to reinstate trust in technology within the society.
Files hosting sites, chat forums, messaging services, search engines and social media platforms alike will come under the belt of the aforementioned measures.
If not adhered to, the policies also mention within them strong punishments for companies including substantial fines and blocking access.
This is a great action which has potential to bring change. The implementation although could not be as simple as it all sounds.
The above-mentioned set of guidelines would provide for a stable code of conduct for everyone on the social media which if complied to, will lead to safer platforms.
But, the implementation, is still in question along with other questions like, Will the regulatory approach be different for smaller companies?
Social media regulation and the improvements it requires is on everyone’s mind, of late because of the mosque shooting in New Zealand.
The shooting was live streamed on Facebook and other social media sites like Instagram, YouTube and etc. were rushed to block and delete the copies of the video which has instantly gone viral.
A legislation not very different from the one in UK that was discussed above was passed in Australia meaning to hold the executives responsible for whatever is posted on their platforms.